By Alfie Marlborough by kind permission of MK Dons Worldwide on Facebook.
Player Ratings – Accrington Stanley
The Dons picked up their second win on the bounce in a hard-fought victory in the North-West to move out of the bottom Four. Here is how I rated the players as I fill in for Luke.
Jamie Cumming – 7.5
A good day for the Dons’ Number One who dealt with everything that came his way – especially in the Second-Half as Accrington piled on the pressure in their bid for an equaliser. Made a big diving save to deny Tommy Leigh’s deflected strike from outside the area. Got down well a few times to collect the ball and was brave in doing so. Distribution was fairly solid from the on-loan keeper who was able to see out a second consecutive clean sheet in a row.
Tennai Watson – 7
A fairly quiet but faultless from Watson who played on the right-side of a back-three. Made several Clearances in the Flurry of chances Stanley had midway through the second-half. Won several duels and made several passes to move the ball forward and calm things down.
Dean Lewington – 7.5
Another very good performance from the veteran Centre-Half who controlled the game very well for the Dons. Played some very important passes – one that comes to mind was when Dons were in control early on and played a smart-ball over the top of the defence to Grigg from a free-kick which led to a corner thanks to Grigg’s hard work.
Jack Tucker – 8.5 (Top Don)
A Man of the Match performance from the young centre-half who had everything covered and dealt with all that came to him. Made lots of tackles and won a few fouls. Could have had a goal for himself early but his looped headed effort was cleared off the line by a Stanley defender. Has looked really good in recent weeks – especially since the return of Lewington. Won twelve out of thirteen duels and looked very settled all afternoon.
6. Josh McEachran – 7
Controlled the midfield well all afternoon and played several passes forward to create chances for the Dons. Recovered the ball plenty of times and produced many inviting crosses from Corners and crosses.
9. Will Grigg – 7
A great effort from the Northern Irish forward who ran on to every last ball and one several key fouls for us. His work-rate was top notch – definitely the best we’ve seen from him in recent months.
10. Mo Eisa – 7
Playing from the left, Mo enjoyed a lot of space and time on the ball through the afternoon. Won his side a free-kick in a really good position after cutting in from the left and using his technical ability and skills to get past several Stanley players before being hauled down. However, he could not repeat the free-kick he scored a week prior and cannoned his effort straight into the wall. Had another big opportunity in the second-half after brilliantly taking down a world-class ball from Daniel Harvie. His finish was poor and blasted well over. Overall, a decent afternoon for the Striker turned winger.
16. Conor Grant – 7.5
A strong performance from the central-midfielder who found KaiKai on the overlap at the perfect time to get the first goal and brought the ball forward several times for the Dons and looked really comfortable all afternoon.
21. Daniel Harvie – 7
A decent performance from the Scottish Wing-back. Got forward well in attack and had a big chance of his own but was slightly unfortunate not to get a strong connection to the ball when he found space in the area. Defensively sound all afternoon as well and produced a magnificent long-ball over the Stanley defence to Mo Eisa from the half-way line.
24. Sullay KaiKai – 8
Caused problems all afternoon down the right-hand side for the Dons. Got his second goal for the club after some phenomenal work to cut in on his Left before firing into the bottom corner to give the Dons what turned out to be the decisive goal. Had a free-kick from a good range in the second-half but hit the ball high and wide causing no problems whatsoever for the hosts.
42. Paris Maghoma – 7
Another good performance from the on-loan midfielder who got involved and did really well defensively and provided that extra bit of stability when their backs were up against the wall in the second half to help see out an important win.
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8. Ethan Robson – 6
The midfielder came on with minutes to go and was unable to make a big impact but helped see out a tense stoppage time to earn Dons a much needed three points.
14. Bradley Johnson – 6.5
Also had very little time to get involved but won a few fouls to calm things down for the Dons and used his experience to see out a big result.
22. Henry Lawrence – 6
Came on with 10 minutes to go and didn’t really get many chances to get stuck in.
28. Dawson Devoy – 6
Had twenty minutes to help out and came on in the midst of the Host’s long spell of possession and did well to ease the pressure.
29. Max Dean – 6.5
The young-striker came on and had a massive opportunity to give the Dons a second when he found himself one-on-one with the keeper but was unable to beat the keeper who was quick off his line. Had another chance that saw him bearing down on goal but the Forward was fouled by Stanley midfielder Tommy Leigh who somehow didn’t see red and only saw yellow. Brought plenty of energy to the side late on and was able to show glimpses of quality.
A big win and good performances all over the board which sees us climb out of the relegation zone heading into another Crucial game against fellow relegation battlers in Morecambe at Stadium MK on Saturday!
