Twine strike sees Dons past Wycombe in fiery derby

Scott Twine’s 13th goal of the season saw MK Dons claim victory over Wycombe Wanderers in a heated derby which was marred by offensive chanting from the visiting supporters.

Dons’ top-scorer fired home after 12 minutes when Theo Corbeanu’s strike was parried into his path by Wycombe keeper David Stockdale.

But the game came to an abrupt halt just before the half hour when Adebayo Akinfenwa took offense to chants in his direction from the some of the 1,466 Dons supporters and went over to remonstrate.

A tense second half saw both sides threaten but the best chance of the half fell to Corbeanu, whose diving header was tipped onto the bar by Stockdale.

The win, Dons’ third over Wycombe this season, sees them climb into fourth spot in League One, just four points from top spot.

After missing the last three games with a hamstring injury, Harry Darling returned to the side at Wycombe as Dons returned to a back three. Mo Eisa was the man to miss out as Troy Parrott led the line, flanked by Theo Corbeanu and Tuesday's stoppage time hero Scott Twine.

He scored his 12th goal of the season in the 95th minute against Burton but it took him just 12 minutes to get his 13th as Dons took an early lead at Adams Park. Theo Corbeanu broke from the halfway line and took on Joe Jacobson before getting a shot away, but keeper David Stockdale could only spill the ball into the path of Twine, who fired low into the corner.

The tense nature of the encounter meant for a scrappy game as the noisy MK Dons travelling supporter base cheered on their side, but an offensive chant aimed in the direction of Wycombe striker Adebayo Akinfenwa forced the game to a halt when the 39-year-old went over to the visiting fans, sparking unsavory scenes. Many of the Dons players urged the supporters to stop though pockets continued.

Back on the pitch, the stop-start nature made it hard for either side to build and sort of continued pressure. Corbeanu was the biggest threat for the visitors, getting into some promising positions on the right-hand side, but Stockdale wasn't really tested thereafter, while Jamie Cumming made a great save to deny Brandon Hanlan's attempted lob.

The second half was played again on a knife-edge given the earlier tensions, but on the field there was little between the sides. While Wycombe looked to go long, Dons created the better of the chances, and could have doubled their lead when Corbeanu's header was tipped onto the bar by Stockdale.

Akinfenwa came on in the latter stages of the game to a mix of boos and jeers from the visitors, but Wycombe couldn't capitalise on his introduction to call Cumming into action.

After seeing out a lengthy spell of stoppage time, the 1,400 travelling supporters were roaring for the right reasons as Dons held on to win again, moving up to fourth in League One.

Referee: Robert Lewis

Wycombe Wanderers: Stockdale, Grimmer, Jacobson (Vokes 46), Stewart, Tafazolli, Wheeler, Thompson, McCleary, Hanlan (Akinfenwa 80), Mehmeti (Horgan 61), Obita

Subs not used: Przybek, Kaikai, McCarthy, Forino

MK Dons: Cumming, Lewington, O'Hora, Darling, Harvie, Watson, Coventry, McEachran (Boateng 53), Corbeanu (Wickham 73), Twine, Parrott

Subs not used: Ravizzoli, Eisa, Bird, Ilunga, Davies

Booked: Jacobson, Twine, Harvie, Parrott, Boateng, Coventry