McLean leaves it late as MK Dons Women start cup final week with win

Substitute Amy McLean made the perfect impression by scoring the winner in stoppage time as MK Dons Women beat Chatham 2-1 on Sunday.

Coming off the bench after a sub-par first-half, McLean managed to get enough on the ball after a scramble in the box to get it over the line to claim the points for Charlie Bill's side to kick-off a busy week for the club.

The victory kept Dons sixth in the Southern Premier Division, and within touching distance of Ipswich Town and Oxford United ahead of them, with Wednesday's opponents Rugby Borough further up the line in third.

Speaking afterwards, McLean said she had to make a mark on the game after Dons were below par in the opening half at Chatham, and hopes her winner has done enough to get back into the starting line-up.

"To come on and score the winner was a good feeling," she said. "I haven't scored in a while, so to get my name back on the scoresheet is great.

"It was about being pro-active rather than reactive. The ball fell in the middle, I knew I had to get something on it. I got what I could on it, and it ended up in the back of the net!

"We knew we had to perform to get our names on the team sheet for the big games coming up this week."

McLean admitted Dons were not at the races in the opening 45 minutes against struggling Chatham, but seven minutes after the restart, they took the lead through Tricia Gould's strike from the edge of the box.

With 19 minutes to go though, Chatham levelled things up through Ciara Hynes with a share of the spoils looking on the cards until the second minute of stoppage time.

"We made it harder for ourselves today," said manager Bill. "To score a late winner is always a great feeling. It was a bit scrappy with 15, 20 minutes to go but we always had confidence we could win the game.

"With three games in a week, we knew we would need a bit of momentum and a last minute winner can do that. It creates momentum, it creates a buzz, paints over the cracks a little bit, but it's never easy to win away in this league."

MK Dons Women take on Reading FC on Sunday in the Berks Bucks Count Cup final as they seek to retain their trophy, but Bill said his players cannot afford to take their foot off the gas this week.

He said: "Everyone wants a place in the side for the club final, but they have to prove against Chatham and against Rugby. If you want to save yourself and don't put in the performances, it makes that decision tougher. They have to do everything they can to prove their worth and get onto that team sheet."