Unhappy return to Milton Keynes for Paul Tisdale

Bristol Rovers' poor first half performance at Stadium MK cost them dearly said Paul Tisdale as he lost on his return to Milton Keynes on Boxing Day.

The former Dons boss was sacked in November 2019, six months after leading them to promotion from League Two, when the club dropped into the relegation zone.

Russell Martin, who Tisdale brought to the club, oversaw his side control the game from whistle-to-whistle in the opening 45 minutes, but it needed a Ben Gladwin wonder-strike in first half stoppage time to separate the sides.

Despite Scott Fraser firing in Dons' second just after the hour-mark, Tisdale pointed the finger at his side's first half performance which left them chasing the game.

"I'm disappointed to have lost, and disappointed to have lost it after the first half display we had," he said. "We made a better fist of it in the second half, we competed. The first half cost us.

"I wanted to get to half time and reorganise, so that final 30 seconds was really important to us. We weren't anywhere near it in the first half. We got a lot more purposeful in the second half, but we contrived to give them a chance to score a second. There are positives, but I'm disappointed by the first half.

"We never wanted to sit off them in the first half, there was never that discussion, but we were that team. I'm not sure that's us, or the team we should try to be. We can make tactical and technical selection decisions, but the players have to be braver with their positions and how they affect the opposition.

"The second was tough to take because we were in the game in the second half."