Shrews clash was an outlier in MK Dons’ season

Scott Twine sees his shot blocked by Shrewsbury. Chris Hogg said Dons have gone back to the game at Montgomery Waters Meadow on several occasions to learn lessons this season.

The defeat to Shrewsbury Town earlier this season was something of a benchmark for MK Dons, and one they want to put right this Saturday at Stadium MK.

Back-to-back away trips to the clubs bottom and second from bottom looked to be a home run for Dons, who were in hot form heading into October but they were beaten in both games - the only time they have lost consecutive league games all season.

Since then though, assistant head coach Chris Hogg says the game at Montgomery Waters Meadow, which saw Dons beaten 1-0, has been a go-to in terms of what not to do.

While Dons have gone from strength-to-strength in the last few months, seeing them surge into the top three, Shrewsbury too have hit a purple patch, and one which has seen them escape the clutches of the relegation battle.

They head to Stadium MK with one defeat in seven, and with three wins on the spin, including a remarkable 3-0 win over Rotherham at the New York Stadium.

With both teams in significantly different form since their meeting back in October, Hogg hopes there are no signs of a repeat when the sides meet again this Saturday.

“We’ve leaned on that experience quite a lot throughout this season,” he said. “The journey of the group has had a lot of experiences, both good, bad and indifferent.

“It will be a challenging game, Steve Cotterill has them in a good spot in their form in the last eight games. They know their strengths, and it will be a good challenge for us.

“Steve is an experienced manager, his team has evolved too, and they have shown some positive strides. Results over the last eight games have been really good for them, but we’re evolving and developing too.

“We’ll focus on ourselves and see if we can overcome that challenges that come our way.”