Manning delighted to get that winning feeling again

Liam Manning was delighted with his side’s defensive performance on Tuesday night as they claimed all three points against Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium.

After falling behind to Charlie Wyke’s 21st minute prod, Peter Kioso levelled nine minutes later before Daniel Harvie’s cross was put into his own net by Jack Whatmough on 37 minutes.

Dons put in a ruthless second half defensive display as the hosts were limited to precious little in the way of goal-scoring opportunities despite controlling possession for long periods, ending their two-game losing streak to remain sixth in the standings.

“I'm delighted for the players and the staff.,” said Manning after the game. “You saw the honesty, the hard work and desire to compete tonight. I'm delighted with the result and the way we responded, but I also didn't have any hesitations about it. We've got a strong group of characters with no egos and we saw that on the pitch tonight.

“When you come to a place like this, with a squad they've got, you know you'll have to ride it out a bit. But we were comfortable out of possession and soaking up the pressure. That was really pleasing tonight.

“We have to win games in different ways, and we showed real defensive grit and desire. It was nice to see we were compact in the second half, winning first and second balls, not letting anything past us. It was arguably our best defensive performance, especially under pressure.

“Wigan are so effective in playing off Wyke, so credit to everybody for defending from the front.

“It feels great, and rightly the players should enjoy the win. But we're straight back into it on Saturday with another tough game, but that's League One.”