No-one stepped up to impress Manning in Cheltenham defeat

Liam Manning said his MK Dons side did not live up to expectations in their 2-1 defeat to Cheltenham Town on Tuesday night in the Papa John’s Trophy.

Making 10 changes to the side which started the 4-0 win over Morecambe on Saturday, Dons trailed to an eighth minute Alfie May penalty, and though they finished the first-half by far the better side, equalising through Zak Jules on 35 minutes, the second half was poor by comparison.

Former Dons striker Charlie Brown poked home from close range 10 minutes after the restart but it did not spark the hosts back into life, with only a Louie Barry effort in stoppage time to write home about, after Cheltenham hit the post as they looked to put the game to bed.

After citing the likes of Dawson Devoy and Darragh Burns for taking their chances to impress at Watford last week, Manning said he was disappointed in a few of his players for not taking responsibility during the defeat to Cheltenham to grab the game, and the opportunity, by the scruff of the neck.

He said: “The lads are disappointed because I wanted them to come out here and give me headaches, I wanted them to do well so we've got in-house competition.

“When you look at Watford - Dawson and Darragh hadn't played a lot of games, stepped in and delivered and took their opportunities. We have to challenge the players to get better now, it's a disappointing and challenging evening.

“I can’t come out and make excuses. We work every day with the ball, so much in possession and work with it, but when you’re missing passes, that’s just down to quality and taking responsibility.

“When you’re up against it in the second half, I wanted someone to step up and take responsibility and get us back playing how we want to, but that didn’t happen.

“There were glimmers but not enough for what we need or the level we're looking for. There wasn't enough intensity for the whole game, not enough bravery to take the game to them. We were too passive for me.

“I thought we finished the first half well in passages, but in the second half, we made too many mistakes and showed a lack of quality too often.”