Williamson furious with Dons at half-time despite their advantage

Mike Williamson was ready to read his MK Dons side the riot act at half-time despite going in 3-1 up against Salford City on Saturday.

The head coach was beaten to the punch though by his players, who were 'digging each other out' at the interval for their disappointing performance in the first 45-minutes.

After the glittering display against League Two leaders Mansfield Town in the week, Dons were trailing after just 12 minutes as Matt Smith squeezed in the opener from a tight angle, giving former boss Karl Robinson's side the lead.

But goals from Kyran Lofthouse, a stunner from Alex Gilbey and Emre Tezgel's first career goal - which may also go down as a Smith own goal - send Dons in 3-1 to the good at the break.

"To be honest, I was furious at half-time," said Williamson. "But the boys disarmed that because they were angry at half-time, digging each other out. They knew.

"I don't know whether we were tired, but we cannot allow for that to happen. But the score line was 3-1 at half-time so I think it emphasises the quality we have when we get it right.

"Salford came here to go man-for-man, and if we were effective, we'd win the game but if not, we'd have been open. We had to realise our quality needed to be on point, which it was at times. Anything loose in the first 20 minutes fell to Salford.

"But we dealt with a lot of balls into the box, the defence stayed accountable, and we managed to get it over the line."

The win, combined with Crewe Alexandra's defeat to Doncaster Rovers, sees Dons move up to fourth spot with nine games to go.

Williamson continued: "The play-offs and the top three aren't decided, and anyone can beat anyone on their day. You cannot come off it at the top of the league. You take a day off, you lose ground and it's game over."