Uncharacteristic spell cost Dons dearly against Wednesday, says Manning

MK Dons 2-3 Sheffield Wednesday
Liam Manning said an uncharacteristic first half an hour at Stadium MK cost his side the win and their unbeaten run against Sheffield WednesdayLiam Manning said an uncharacteristic first half an hour at Stadium MK cost his side the win and their unbeaten run against Sheffield Wednesday
Liam Manning said an uncharacteristic first half an hour at Stadium MK cost his side the win and their unbeaten run against Sheffield Wednesday

Three goals in 20 first-half minutes ultimately cost MK Dons any chance of victory and maintaining their unbeaten run against Sheffield Wednesday, Liam Manning said.

Goals from Saido Berahino, Lee Gregory and an outrageous strike from Barry Bannan on 10, 20, and 30 minutes left a shell-shocked Dons facing a three-goal deficit at Stadium MK, leaving their 15-match undefeated streak hanging by a thread.

Despite Troy Parrott pulling one back five minutes before the break, and then Scott Twine’s stoppage time free-kick recuding the arrears, it was the visitors who completed the double over Dons, heavily denting their automatic promotion hopes.

“It was clear to see where that game was lost,” said Manning afterwards. “It was totally unlike us. When you play against good, experienced players and you get your margins wrong like we did, you find yourselves 3-0 down and chasing. What we saw in the second half was spirit and character, but Wednesday had something to defend.

“We had some good chances in the second half - Twiney had one straight at the keeper, Conor hit the post, Hiram reversed one to Troy. We had some good moments, and arguably there could have been more than 10 minutes of stoppage time.

“The lads have been terrific over a long period, but you'll get moments like we had tonight. I always say we have to stay emotionally stable, not being overly hard on the players but we have to learn and be better for Tuesday.”

Suffering defeat for the first time since January 22, Manning said his side cannot afford to feel sorry for themselves, with focus already turning to Tuesday night’s game against Oxford at the Kassam Stadium.

He said: “You can't dwell on it, you have to learn, reflect and go again on Tuesday. We won't sit around feeling sorry for ourselves, we'll channel it into Tuesday.”