Win over Sunderland epitomises Dons’ spirit and culture

Liam Manning said Dons’ brilliant win over Sunderland was a mark of their developing culture at the club.

Mo Eisa fired Dons in front two minutes into the second half when put through by Josh McEachran, but Ross Stewart equalised 11 minutes later when his header found the bottom corner.

Connor Wickham came off the bench with 17 minutes to go against his former club and within two minutes had scored at the Stadium of Light again, this time netting his first for Dons as they claimed their seventh win in 12, losing just once in that period.

“I'm delighted for the lads - it epitomises the group,” said Manning afterwards. “Our foundations are built on a strong culture and the group showed resilience, toughness, competitiveness and intensity.

“That gave us a platform to be in the game, and we showed a real togetherness to step up and deliver.

“Jamie (Cumming) didn't have too many saves to make again. We've shown we're good on the ball, but we've also shown how difficult we are to beat. We've shown it a few times this year.

“If you want to be in a position to get results, you have to be compact and everyone has to buy into defending and we did that.”