MK Dons 2-1 Fleetwood Town
Fleetwood Town slipped to defeat at stadium:mk this evening as Benik Afobe’s late penalty ensured all three points for the Dons.David Ball gave the Cod Army the lead five minutes after the interval when he brilliantly lobbed home keeper David Martin after being played in on goal.
Defender Kyle McFadzean brought his side level on the hour mark as his low strike from the edge of the box beat keeper Chris Maxwell.
But with six minutes left on the clock, Afobe gave MK Dons the lead from the penalty spot after Stephen Crainey brought down Samir Carruthers.
Town manager Graham Alexander named the same side that impressively beat Doncaster Rovers at home on Saturday afternoon.
The attack of Stephen Dobbie, Liam McAlinden and Ball, who all scored against the Rovers, were looking to add to their tally against a Dons side who had conceded only 14 times all season.
Experienced duo Keith Southern and Jeff Hughes were both named amongst the substitutes for the second game running as they continued their recovery from injury.
Dele Alli, the man so talked about in Buckinghamshire after his exploits for England’s Under 19’s, had the game’s first attempt as he skipped away from his marker on the right but fired well wide.
Fleetwood responded well and enjoyed plenty of possession following’s Alli’s attempt, with Josh Morris and Liam McAlinden seeing efforts blocked.
The Dons’ Ben Reeves then saw his long range strike fly wide, while Alli forced keeper Chris Maxwell into a fine save after his shot had taken a wicked deflection.
As the half wore on, the home side were arguably the better team, with Alli a threat from midfield with his driving runs.
Karl Robinson’s men were restricted to long range efforts, though; Dean Bowditch drilling a low shot wide from the edge of the area after being set up by Reeves.
The Cod Army were indebted to Maxwell after 37 minutes as he denied Bowditch from opening the scoring with a fine finger-tip save around the post.
At the start of the second half, home winger Daniel Powell found himself in a good positon on the right hand side of the box, but blazed over the bar.
However, with 50 minutes on the clock, David Ball gave Fleetwood the lead as he latched onto a pass over the top of the defence and lobbed keeper Martin superbly.
In response, Alli did well to beat his man and lay the ball off for Carruthers, who saw his crashing effort skim the post.
Town’s lead lasted all of 10 minutes, though, as McFadzean equalised for the MK Dons when his strike from the edge of the box nestled into the bottom corner.
Despite conceding, Graham Alexander’s side continued to pressure, and Jamie Proctor’s attempt from a tight angle was kept out by Martin.
In what was becoming an end to end affair, Bowditch stung the palms of Maxwell with a left footed shot, while Alli fired just over.
The home side were awarded a penalty with six minutes remaining as Crainey was adjudged to have fouled Carruthers in the box.
Benik Afobe stepped up confidently and sent Maxwell the wrong way to score his 12th goal of the season in all competitions and give the Dons the lead.
Fleetwood rallied for a leveller but were thwarted in their attempts as they came away from Buckinghamshire empty handed.