Poor defensive display cost MK Dons in FA Cup defeat to rivals

The relatively straight-forward nature of AFC Wimbledon’s goals against MK Dons were a source of frustration for head coach Scott Lindsey.

Matt Stevens’ opener, just before half-time, came from a long ball aimed in his direction, before Omar Bugiel’s second was bundled over the line when Dons struggled to clear a free-kick.

The head coach was damning of his side’s ability to defend in key moments, saying: “We're in League Two - we have to defend against direct balls all the time. If we can't do that better, we won't get to where we want to get to.

“We didn't defend one ball down our throats, didn't do well enough in the first, second, third, fourth phase, they got in to score far too easily.

“The timing of it made it so much worse - a minute before half-time. We gathered the troops at half-time but conceded just after the restart. The timing of the goals were terrible, and the manner in which we conceded them too was terrible.

“We have to be able to defend moments like that better, especially just before half-time. And then, straight after the restart we concede again.“

Despite the poor nature of the goals from a defensive point of view though, Dons did precious little to get back into the game after falling behind, an were dealt another blow when Connor Lemonheigh-Evans, who was close to signing for AFC Wimbledon before opting for Milton Keynes in the summer, was sent off with 20 minutes to go.

Lindsey continued: “It wasn't what we wanted. We didn’t defend two moments well enough, which ended up killing the momentum of the game. We were ok in the first half I think, we were playing well, the better side without creating loads.

“We didn't react at all. The best part of the game was just before their first goal. We didn't create loads, we wanted to hold up possession in the final third.”