Plenty of links between the sides when MK Dons face Stevenage
The pre-season campaign rounds out for MK Dons in familiar surrounds against familiar faces
MK Dons take on Stevenage for the first time since 2021 on Saturday, and they won’t be short of familiar faces to see when they arrive at the Lamex Stadium.
Trips to Hertfordshire had been a regular fixture for Dons down the years. Since their first exchange in the FA Cup back in 2010 - a game which saw then non-league Stevenage Borough claim victory in the first round replay on penalties at Stadium MK - the sides have crossed paths another 14 times. But since meeting again in the FA Cup nearly five years ago, the teams have been kept apart.
A few players have made the switch down the years though. Dons skipper Alex Gilbey spent a season on loan at the Lamex Stadium during his last contracted year at Charlton Athletic, while keeper Craig MacGillivray also made the swap on loan in 2024 after being ousted by former Dons boss Mike Williamson.
Defender Nathan Thompson made the journey in the opposite direction in January, brought in by Scott Lindsey but so far has struggled for fitness with two separate injuries, the latest of which set to keep him out of Saturday’s game.
His brother Louis however is still at Stevenage, and signed a contract extension back in April to keep him into a third year and beyond. The younger Thompson spent 18 months on loan at Stadium MK from 2020-21, but injuries limited him to just 30 appearances.
Dan Kemp’s MK Dons career will ultimately be looked at as a case of ‘what might have been’ for the 26-year-old. Barely making a scratch in the first-team, he had hugely successful loan spells at Hartlepool and Swindon, returning in January 2024, but he failed to replicate his form for his parent club. Released at the end of his contract, he signed a two-year deal with Stevenage last summer and was an instant hit, scoring 11 goals in 48 appearances, earning him the club’s Player of the Year award.
Stevenage pounced on another former Dons midfielder in the summer, landing Jordan Houghton after he left Plymouth Argyle. The ex-Chelsea man was a regular at Stadium MK after being signed by Paul Tisdale in 2018, but his time came to an end in 2021 at the end of his deal. Signing for Argyle, Houghton helped the side to promotion to the Championship, and a dramatic last day escape from the drop. Another 30 appearances for the club last season, Houghton could not help them survive against relegation for a second season and left on a free transfer, penning a deal with Alex Revell’s side.
And Revell himself was once an MK Dons hero. Having played three games alongside Dons boss Paul Warne during their time together at Rotherham in 2011/12, Revell signed at MK1 on a short-term deal in 2016 from Cardiff City. Netting four goals in 17 Championship appearances was not enough to help the side escape relegation, but he is perhaps best remembered for donning the glove and saving a penalty away at Preston North End following keeper Cody Cropper’s red card.
After hanging up his playing boots, rounding out his career at Stevenage, he was promoted to being the club’s manager in February 2020 before getting sacked in November 2021. Returning as first-team coach under Steve Evans - his former boss at Rotherham - Revell once again took up the reins at the Lamex Stadium in April 2024 when Evans returned to the New York Stadium.