Williamson defends Dons after fiery scenes following late Tranmere winner

Scenes threatened to turn ugly at the end of MK Dons' dramatic win over Tranmere Rovers but Mike Williamson was delighted with his side after the 2-1 victory.

Ellis Harrison scored his second late winner in four games when he fired in the 97th minute winner at Prenton Park, to add to his Boxing Day winner against Colchester United, after Alex Gilbey and Kieron Morris had the game finely poised at 1-1 in the first-half.

But in celebrating the win with the last kick of the game, scenes behind the Dons dugout lit up, with Tranmere fans furious at Dons' celebrations, and striker Max Dean, who Harrison had earlier replaced, needed to be restrained and taken down the tunnel in the aftermath.

In explaining the ugly scenes afterwards, which involved stewards and police intervention to prevent fans getting to the Dons bench, Williamson said: "I don't know if it was (Dean) in particular, there was a lot of us up, elated with the last minute winner.

"We were celebrating, and the fans didn't take too kindly to it. It wasn't one person, it was a collective thing and you can understand their frustration when you concede a last minute goal like that, but it's good for us."

Despite having 23 shots on goal, Dons looked on course for a point in Birkenhead with Dan Kemp, Joe Tomlinson and Harrison all squandering chances before the late dramatics.

Williamson felt though his side were more than good value for the win, which saw them back into the play-off spots in seventh place.

He continued: "Credit to the lads - these are the moments you're in football for. It was a really good performance from front to back and we deserved it. And the way we did it at the end, it was good to top it off.

"We can have no criticism of the performance, the scoreline was frustrating but in context, it was a deflected shot and we lacked that finishing touch in the final third. But ultimately, we got three points and it was a comprehensive performance."

In praising his goal-scorer, Williamson added: "He deserves it because he's such a great guy. He's brilliant around the place. He's had limited minutes, but he's so positive, and makes a huge impact. He deserves all the plaudits and credit for that."