Win was all that mattered for Warne as Dons edge past Shrewsbury
The MK Dons head coach was pleased to come away from Shrewsbury with the points
A return to winning ways was the only thing that mattered for MK Dons head coach Paul Warne after his side ground out a 2-1 win over Shrewsbury Town.
First-half goals from Scott Hogan and Will Collar - both netting for the first time this season - put a patchwork Dons in control at the break, with a late Chuks Aneke goal against his former club threatening to throw a cat amongst the pigeons towards the end.
After a run of four League Two games without a win, and nine first-team players missing through suspension and injury, Warne said the bitty and scrappy performance meant little compared to the outcome as his side climbed back up to ninth in the table.
He said: “We’ve played significantly better than that and got nothing this season, so the fact we’ve come away against a team fighting for their manager, giving everything and we’ve got the three points, I’m really pleased.
“It felt like, after 20 minutes, both teams looked a little devoid of confidence. We had moments where we played well, but the win will just to the lads no end of good.
“It’s nice to get out of here with a win, no injuries, and we can welcome back Jon and Offy next week, so it will feel a bit more like it soon.”
Dons lost Connor Lemonheigh-Evans to add to their injury woes early in the week, suffering a crack in his ankle Warne confirmed, meaning his threadbare side faced even more changes for the trip to Shropshire, forced into a back three starring Callum Paterson, who has been playing at centre-forward all season.
But Hogan’s opener after just three minutes put early nerves to bed, before Collar struck with six minutes before the break to put the visitors in control, at least in terms of the scoreline.
Warne continued: “I felt we had a few opportunities to make it 3-0 which would have made it game over, but at 2-0 it’s still precarious. An old Dons player bangs one in, which was disappointing and made the ending more hairy than it needed to be. With Chuks up there it could’ve been difficult but we defended pretty well.”
And the win continues Warne’s unbeaten run away from home, extending the run to seven in the league.
“I’m well beaten at home though so we need to change that, but our away form has been excellent,” said Warne. “If our performances at home had collated more points, we’d be in a really handsome position but away from home we’ve done well.
“That’s possibly our worst away performance but we’ve got three points.”