Positives to take despite late goal disappointment for Dons

MK Dons 3-3 Fleetwood Town
Troy Parrott Celebrates with Scott Twine during the 3-3 draw with Fleetwood Town on Tuesday nightTroy Parrott Celebrates with Scott Twine during the 3-3 draw with Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night
Troy Parrott Celebrates with Scott Twine during the 3-3 draw with Fleetwood Town on Tuesday night

Though there was an overriding sense of disappointment following Dons’ 3-3 draw with Fleetwood, Liam Manning said there were plenty of positives to take from the game too.

From Scott Twine’s hat-trick, to earning a point even when they weren’t at their best, the head coach said while he was frustrated, he also had to look at the bigger picture.

“Nine games unbeaten is remarkable still,” he said. “It’s a case of continuing it, keep pushing and if we learn those little things, we won’t make those mistakes over and over again. For me, I’ve got to step back and look at the bigger picture.

“We looked a threat throughout. Max (Watters) had a good chance early on, one of the guys said we should have had a penalty for handball in the first half too. We got into some good areas too.

“The biggest frustration though is the defensive side.”

Tuesday night also saw the return of David Kasumu and Mo Eisa after recent injuries.

Eisa missed five matches with a groin problem, while Kasumu missed all but the opening game of the season with hamstring trouble.

Manning said: “We’ve got a lot of people competing for starting spots now, so we have to manage match-minutes so we can keep people sharp.

“It will be a challenge and it was great to see those guys back on the pitch again and I hope we’ll see them go from strength-to-strength.”