Memorable first win for Manning as Dons ease past Charlton

Liam Manning’s first victory as MK Dons head coach is one which will live long in his memory.

Goals from Troy Parrott and Mo Eisa ensured Dons picked up not only Manning’s but the club’s first win of the season on Tuesday night at Stadium MK as they came from a goal down to beat Charlton Athletic 2-1.

It was a relatively straight-forward win for Manning’s side - taking just three minutes to cancel out Jayden Stockley’s 15th minute opener after a slugging start from the home side before coming back to control the game with relative ease thereafter.

Stockley forced a save from Andrew Fisher after a mistake from Daniel Harvie, but it would be as close as Charlton would come, with Eisa’s second half strike after 63 minutes enough to give Dons the three points and send the supporters home singing Manning’s name.

He said: “It was a really special moment for me, to have the fans singing my name at the end there and one I won't forget in my career. The fans were terrific tonight and I hope they enjoyed the game.

“The sooner we could win a game the better, for the players and the staff, especially in a week, when we have so many games with no opportunities to get on the grass and train. It's big to get the win, and now it's about building on it to go again on Saturday.”

On the game, he said: “I think we started both halves slow to be honest, but we grew into it and started to show our quality. We did a bit of everything - we can play, attack, compete and fight if we have to.

“I'm really pleased with the guys. I've been so impressed by their attitude, their desire to work and how close they are. We fully deserved it, it was a really solid performance.

“We grew into it in the second half in terms of control, you could see some of the things we were talking about, so overall I'm delighted.”