The curious case of Craig MacGillivray at MK Dons

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The shot-stopper was the show-stopper on Tuesday night, but it has been a tough time for the MK Dons keeper this year

For Craig MacGillivray, it has been a cold 10 months at Stadium MK.

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Frozen out by the last administration, his trio of penalty saves on Tuesday night against Arsenal U21s in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy put him back on the MK Dons map, and more than anything, his emotions were of relief in the aftermath.

The 31-year-old was, until the turn of the year, Dons’ first choice keeper. Brought in after, ironically, his clean sheet for Burton sent the club down to League Two, he played 25 games for the club in the first-half of last season, including in all of Mike Williamson’s nine-match unbeaten run in the division, which saw the club climb back to being promotion contenders again.

But on New Year’s Day, while the club’s fortunes would change and began to spiral, so did MacGillivray’s chances of pulling on the shirt again. The 3-0 defeat at Doncaster Rovers would be his last outing for the club until last night’s Trophy win over the young Gunners.

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Loaned out to Stevenage, where he would only make 11 sporadic appearances for Steve Evans’ side, the former Charlton man watched from afar as Michael Kelly and Filip Marschall would struggle to hold down the role between the posts at his parent club, before capitulating in the play-offs.

Returning to the club in the summer, MacGillivray admitted times were tough. He found himself out of favour, down the pecking order, even kept away from matchdays, effectively trapped in a situation which, by his own admission, was not a malicious one.

Mike Williamson froze out Craig MacGillivray at the turn of the year, but the keeper insisted there was no ill-will from either sideMike Williamson froze out Craig MacGillivray at the turn of the year, but the keeper insisted there was no ill-will from either side
Mike Williamson froze out Craig MacGillivray at the turn of the year, but the keeper insisted there was no ill-will from either side | Jane Russell

“What happened before, there was no malice at all,” said the keeper. “Mike moved to Carlisle, and we all wish him the best of luck. I'd like to think I did the best I could to be available if selected but he decided to do whatever he thought was right.

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“The conversations were had at the end of last season. I will always back myself. I was under contract here, I came back in the best shape I could, I gave the best account of myself that I could. Ultimately, the situation materialised the way it did, but I did everything I possibly could as a pro. Sometimes, that's not good enough.

“It has been frustrating, there's no getting away from that. You train as hard as you can, and give yourself the opportunity to be selected, but unfortunately that hasn't happened for me. You can only control what you can control.”

A door reopened?

While Tom McGill and Nathan Harness have been first and second choice all season long, MacGillivray’s inclusion in the side on Tuesday night was something out of nowhere. Harness, who was MacGillivray’s team-mate at Charlton previously, had been between the sticks in the ill-fated Carabao Cup defeat at Watford and the Trophy loss at Colchester under Williamson, while McGill has been the first choice league keeper since arriving from Brighton on loan in the summer.

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Offered the chance under new head coach Scott Lindsey to get his name out there once more, MacGillivray was brought out of the cold and into the pouring rain at Stadium MK as the heavens opened, soaking the players but not his spirit.

He said: “It's nice to play again tonight, hopefully I can give the manager a headache to consider putting me back in matchday squads. But at the same time, I'm happy with what I've done tonight.

“It was nice to get the monkey off my back, so we'll see what happens. I'm taking it one step at a time.

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“It's hard, but at the same time, you can only do what you can do. If you give the best account of yourself, the rest is down to the manager who picks the team.

“The manager has said it's a clean slate for everyone, and he will pick the team based on who he thinks is right and who is performing.”

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