Offord equalises to secure Dons a point in thriller with Crawley Town

Luke Offord equalised with 20 minutes to go as MK Dons had to come from behind to draw 1-1 with Crawley Town in a thriller at the Broadfield Stadium.

The centre-back headed home Gethin Jones’ cross in what was a thrilling but tense affair in Sussex, cancelling out Ade Adeyemo’s strike in first-half stoppage time - Dons’ first league goal against since Paul Warne took over in April.

The point in the end a fair one for both sides, who threw everything at it in what was a spectacular advert for League Two football, with Dons sitting fifth after four games.

An unchanged side took to the field after the 5-0 win over Cheltenham Town on Saturday, with the only minor difference being on the bench as Dan Crowley made another step towards his return from injury ahead of Connor Lemonheigh-Evans.

There were familiar faces amongst the Crawley line-up, with Richie Barker’s son Charlie lining up at centre-back, midfielder Jay Williams who returned to the Broadfield Stadium after six months at MK1, and academy product Kabongo Tshimanga, who joined the Reds on a free transfer in the summer.

With plenty of history and no love lost between the two sides, the game played out at a frantic pace, with both sets of fans making for a tense atmosphere inside the Broadfield Stadium.

Both sides were able to create plenty of chances too, with Harry McKirdy trying an acrobatic effort early on for the hosts, while Danny Cashman also saw an effort deflected wide.

Joe Tomlinson limped out worryingly for the visitors early on, replaced by Aaron Nemane, and he looked lively against Ade Adeyemo. Chances came Dons way though as they got more into the game, with Rushian Hepburn-Murphy missing from inside five yards from Callum Paterson’s cross, while the big Scot hit the post and Nathanial Mendez-Laing fired into the side-netting in search of the opener.

The tetchy nature of the game led to several breaks in play for free-kicks, leading to six minutes of stoppage time at the end, and that is when Crawley finally made the breakthrough. Unable to clear a long-throw into the box, the ball bobbled into the path of Adeyemo who rattled the ball past Craig MacGillivray - the first league goal conceded under Paul Warne’s watch - to give Crawley the lead on the break.

Dons emerged for the second-half looking far more organised and controlled, taking the game to Crawley as they sought an equaliser. While they looked the better of the two sides, they were nearly caught on the break but a spectacular miss from Kaheim Dixon, when it looked easier to score, gave them a fright on the hour mark.

With 20 minutes to go though, Dons got their reward when Gethin Jones’ cross drew the pack in, but left Luke Offord unmarked at the far post to nod home.

Their tails up, Dons pressed and nearly got ahead when Jones thrashed one goalwards only to be denied by Harvey Davies.

In the end, both sides would settle for a point as the thrilling game ended all square.

Referee: Stephen Parkinson

Attendance: gfgf

Crawley Town: Davies, Conroy, Barker, Tshimanga (Showunmi 81), McKirdy (Flower 81), Cashman, Adeyemo (Roles 83), Dixon, Williams (Anderson 46), Watson (Brown 83), Flint

Subs not used: Radcliffe, Mukena

MK Dons: MacGillivray, Jones, Offord, Sanders, Tomlinson (Nemane 13), Kelly, Gilbey, Collar (Hogan 65), Mendez-Laing, Hepburn-Murphy (Leko 78), Paterson

Subs not used: Trueman, Thompson, Ekpiteta, Crowley

Booked: Watson, Gilbey, Anderson