Thompson's return not harmed by own goal

Louis Thompson's first appearance of the season may have been pockmarked with an own goal, but it impressed Luke Williams on the Dons touchline.

The on-loan Norwich man suffered an ankle injury in the pre-season friendly against Arsenal back in August and only returned to first-team action last night against Stevenage.

Having a strong game in the centre of the park, a mix-up between himself and keeper Laurie Walker saw the 25-year-old head into his own net in first-half stoppage time to allow Stevenage to regain a foothold in the game.

But despite the mistake, Thompson's 67 minutes at the Lamex Stadium was a sign of things to come.

"You can see his power, he can take a ball, read situations well," said assistant manager Luke Williams. "If it's two games further down the line, he doesn't make that header. It's great news for him to come through the game, and to see what he can offer the team."

With Scott Fraser and Ben Gladwin not playing on Tuesday night, Jordan Houghton playing in defence instead of his customary midfield berth and David Kasumu coming off the bench, Dons' options in the middle of the park are plentiful and is providing Russell Martin plenty of food for thought.

Williams continued: "We're a team that will look to play with control and dominate the ball, and with more midfielders if offers us a bigger slice of the game."