Much-needed goals satisfy Dons boss after win in final pre-season game

Paul Warne was relieved to end MK Dons pre-season fixtures with some goals after the 2-0 win over Cheltenham Town on Saturday.

Having drawn blanks against Tottenham, Arsenal, Wealdstone and Barnet in previous friendlies this summer, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Aaron Collins scored in seven second-half minutes at the EV Charger Points Stadium to send them into next week’s Carabao Cup game against Norwich City with a win and a couple of goals under their belts.

“I’m pleased we’ve won today and scored goals, because our play deserved it,” he said. “We were really good. We had some fluidity in midfield, played out well, created a lot of chances and we pressed really well. It wasn’t all perfect, and the scoreline could’ve been about 5-2 at half-time.

“We started the second-half really well, got the two goals which we deserved and then we made all the changes and things fizzled out.”

Warne felt it important for both Mendez-Laing and Collins too to get on the scoresheet after missing a couple of weeks through illness and injury last month.

He said: “Both of them a bit more game-time, they’re not 100 per cent sharp yet. He did his best to miss the chance, he didn’t catch it sweet! And then Collo had a few chances, pulled the trigger a few times and found the net with one, luckily for him otherwise he’d be in the head master’s office on Monday morning!”

After making hard graft of a 3-2 win in Gloucestershire in February, it was a much smoother afternoon for Dons this time around, Warne admitted.

“In fairness, that game felt a slog. They scored late on and that was heart-attack central! In the end, it looked closer than it probably was.

Today, we had a lot more control. There isn’t a team in the land who won’t create chances against you, but I felt we had the right balance of when to press, when to keep the shape and not let them play through us.

“Overall, I’m pleased with our performance and how we’ve progressed through pre-season.”