MK Dons 3-3 Fleetwood Town: Twine’s hat-trick cancelled out by Cod Army

A late Daniel Batty strike denied MK Dons a fifth win in a row at Stadium MK after a tremendous Scott Twine hat-trick had put them in position to claim all three points against Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night.

The 3-3 draw saw Dons twice fell behind to Ged Garner’s first half brace - all too easy from a defensive point of view - but all three of Twine’s goals were sensational. His first, coming after 27 minutes, bend wonderfully past Alex Cairns before his second flew past the Fleetwood keeper six minutes before the break. His third, on 73 minutes, was a cracking free-kick, clipping the underside of the bar on it’s way in.

But Batty, coming off the bench in the latter stages, fired low past Andrew Fisher with two minutes to go to secure a point for the visitors.

With the busy fixture schedule coming up, Liam Manning made three changes to the side to face Fleetwood. Max Watters was handed his first start for the club, while Zak Jules and Peter Kioso both came back into the side. Dean Lewington dropped to the bench, Mo Eisa returned after missing the last five through injury and Tennai Watson dropped out of the squad.

Unbeaten runs were the order of the night, with Fleetwood heading to Milton Keynes on the back of a five match streak, while Dons were out to extend their run to nine games. Usually slow starters, Dons actually looked in total control in the first 10 minutes of the game, fell behind twice in the first half.

Completely against the run of play, Ged Garnder slotted the visitors in front with relative with their first real possession of the game after 12 minutes when he was put through by Paddy Lane's excellent pass.

It certainly rattled the hosts and for the following 10 minutes, Dons were shell-shocked and the game suddenly was being played at Fleetwood's tempo. But after readjusting and settling again, Dons began to get their way back into things. Max Watters looked a constant threat in the first half, but squandered a great chance when put through one-on-one with Alex Cairns.

Scott Twine has become synonymous with scoring excellent goals, and both of his first half strikes were sensational. The first came on 27 minutes when he was put in by Daniel Harvie down the left-hand side of the penalty area, but after cutting back onto his right foot, bent it wonderfully into the far corner.

But Fleetwood would retake the lead five minutes later with almost a carbon copy of their first - Garner finishing off simply after getting onto the end of Lane's pass as the visitors took their chance when it came their way.

It could even have been 3-1 when Garner's effort was deflected just past the upright, but there was nothing anyone could do about Twine's second - even better than his first. Coming six minutes before the break, Twine lashed a fierce swirling strike past Cairns from 22-yards to equalise for a second time.

The game continued to ebb and flow in the second half before Dons began to take control of the game. Chances though were few and far between, but with Twine on a hat-trick he was not to be denied. Lining up another free-kick from 25 yards, Twine saw it over the wall and past Cairns' dive off the underside of the bar.

Both David Kasumu and Mo Eisa were given run-outs late in the day as Dons looked to hold on to claim another victory, but it was not to be. Twice ahead in the game though, Fleetwood were to leave Stadium MK with a point when substitute Batty fired low past Fisher with two minutes to go as both sides' unbeaten runs went on.

Referee: Peter Wright

Attendance: 6,563

MK Dons: Fisher, Darling, O'Hora, Jules (Lewington 90), Harvie, Kioso, O'Riley, Robson, Twine, Parrott (Kasumu 84), Watters (Eisa 73)

Subs not used: Ravizzoli, Baldwin, McEachran, Boateng

Fleetwood Town: Cairns, Andrew, Clarke, Camps (J Garner 80), Rossiter, G Garner, Matete, Hill, Johnson, Biggins (Batty 80), Lane

Subs not used: Crellin, Edmondson, Clark, Conn-Clarke, Johnston

Booked: Rossiter, Biggins, O'Riley