Northampton draw 'not the end of the world'

Jordan Houghton was eager to keep expectations in check on Saturday night after Dons' disappointing 2-2 draw with Northampton.
Jordan HoughtonJordan Houghton
Jordan Houghton

While Paul Tisdale's side took a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Alex Gilbey and Chuks Aneke, Andy Williams and Junior Morias scored in the final 12 minutes to secure a draw for Northampton at the PTS Academy Stadium.

The result ends Dons' run of three consecutive away defeats, and two defeats in a row after what Houghton described as Dons' worst performance of the season on Boxing Day.

He said: "There is so much football to be played, we're still second in the league so it's not all doom and gloom. A lot of teams have dropped points over Christmas so it's not the end of the world.

"It's disappointing to come away with just a point but it was a really positive reaction from Boxing Day – we were poor, to be honest, at Cheltenham, our worst performance of the season. To come here and play some nice stuff was a good away performance. We countered well, our front three looked sharp, and we looked solid defensively. It's disappointing, but it's a point and we'll look to build on it against Cambridge.

"Being 2-0 up is a tricky scoreline, you always want a third to really kill the game off. When we did go 2-0 up, their players were gone, mentally and physically. So it was really frustrating to let them get that goal with 12 minutes and then six added on. But there was so much positive play in our performance."

Houghton also thanked the 1,449 Dons fans who made the short journey to Northampton for the game, adding: "I want to thank the fans, it was brilliant to have so many there. It made for a really good atmosphere. When you're coming out, warming up in front of 1,400 people, it's brilliant. It's so frustrating not to give them the three points."