League Two: Salford City 1-0 MK Dons

On a day when their automatic promotion rivals all lost, MK Dons were unable to capitalise as they too were beaten, going down 1-0 in a scrappy game against Salford City.

Matt Butcher’s cracker midway through the second-half was enough to separate the sides at a windy Peninsula Stadium, which also saw Dons end with ten men following Luke Offord’s late red card.

Paul Warne’s side though were handed a huge slice of luck elsewhere, with leaders Bromley beaten by lowly Barrow, while Barnet, who downed Dons a week earlier, saw off Cambridge United.

Following the defeat to Barnet last time out, Paul Warne made four changes to his side to face fellow promotion candidates Salford. Aaron Collins, Curtis Nelson, Gethin Jones and Dan Crowley all returned to the starting line-up, with Jack Sanders, Aaron Nemane and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy dropping to the bench, while Connor Lemonheigh-Evans was out through injury. While there was not room for Will Collar and Callum Paterson as anticipated, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing was in the squad for the first time since December, named on the bench.

With almost every weather condition hitting the Peninsula Stadium ahead of kick-off, the wind picked up through the sunshine, and it had a huge impact on both sides.

The swirls meant Salford’s balls over the top often raced through to Dons keeper Craig MacGillivray, while coming in the opposite direction, it barely crossed the half-way line.

With neither really getting to grips with the conditions, it lead to a pretty poor watch for the opening 45 minutes. With both sides chasing promotion this season, a draw would not have done either much good but neither were able to show off their quality.

Frequent in giving up possession, and both poor with it, shots on goal proved to be a rarity at both ends. For the Ammies, Ollie Turton fired straight at MacGillivray early on from the edge of the box, while at the other end, Dan Crowley swiped a left-footed volley wide, while Curtis Nelson’s effort from a similar position hit the side-netting.

The second-half did not appear to be getting much better either, with Dons struggling to put the ball over the line after a goal-mouth scramble, but it would be as close as they would come.

With results beginning to fall their way elsewhere, in the form of Barnet’s lead over Cambridge and bottom club Barrow’s unlikely advantage against leaders Bromley, it meant Dons had a huge opportunity to make up for last Saturday’s loss.

But it was not to be, as Matt Butcher took aim from 22 yards, picking out the top corner after Dons reacted poorly to a Salford throw midway through the second-half.

The visitors rolled the dice, bringing on Nathaniel Mendez-Laing for the closing stages after more than three months out, but they were reduced to ten men for the final ten minutes when Luke Offord, shifted into midfield, took a swipe at the ball underneath downed Ros Longelo, sparking a two-team scrap. Offord was given his marching orders, while there were a couple more yellows flashed in the process as Dons succumbed to their second defeat in a row.

Referee: Thomas Parsons

Attendance: 3,177 (611)

Salford City: Young, Turton, Grant (Stockton 90), Cooper, Austerfield, Butcher, Oluwo, Udoh (Borini 69), Graydon, Garbutt, Longeld

Subs not used: Howard, Dorrington, Ehibatiomhan, Siri, Butt

MK Dons: MacGillivray, Offord, Nelson, Ekpiteta (Mendez-Laing 79), Mellish, Jones (Nemane 87), Kelly (Sanders 60), Crowley (Hepburn-Murphy 60), Gilbey, Wiles, Collins (Hogan 79)

Subs: Trueman, Tomlinson

Booked: Mellish, Graydon, Gilbey

Sent off: Offord