Travel drama does not hold up MK Dons at Notts County

Manager Paul Tisdale said it reminded him of the old days as the players hopped in their cars to drive to Notts County for the game, and was delighted that it made little impact to their performance on the pitch as they brushed aside County 2-1 to climb back into the automatic promotion spots.

"The coach did not make it this morning, we had to get in our cars and drive here!" he said. "Other than me driving the minibus, we didn't have much choice! It gave for a nice atmosphere, we had a decision to make at 8am, with the coach stuck on the M1.

"We could have either gotten flustered and flap, but instead we had breakfast, got in the cars and drove. It was like back in the old days! It was a nice feel."

Dons had to be patient in their build-up at Meadow Lane though, having to wait until the 62nd minute before David Wheeler nodded them ahead. Chuks Aneke put behind him a difficult week to make it 2-0 five minutes from time before a late County consolation deep into injury time.

Tisdale though said despite the wait, he was always confident his side would win the game.

He said:"It was a slow start, but we built the game really nicely. We played like a team who know we could win it. We played it to script. We missed two or three chances perhaps to over-eagerness, we needed a bit more composure. But it was very hard to fault the players. They were tough when we needed them to be tough and we had the necessary bits of play we needed to create the goals.

"It's rare you win a game in the first 10 minutes – we've only done it once this season. You have to work through a performance, build it and layer it. They came close, had a few half chances but we defended well, we had bodies where they needed to be.

"You could tell (Notts County) were so enthusiastic and keen, they snatched at their chances but they gave it everything. These games are always tricky, and we could not underestimate it. They haven't lost to anyone in the top five at home. I'm delighted to have won, of course. We looked like a team who knew we could win it, even at 0-0. We had control and quiet determination.

"Last week we were gutted at Tranmere, but we;re not going to be too overenthusiastic after his result. There are still three games to go."