The final game of pre-season saw Championship side Plymouth Argyle visit Stadium MK. Mike Williamson put out a strong squad and The Dons battled well, though it was the visitors that came out as the victors in the end. Here’s how I rated the players after the 0-1 loss to Plymouth:
Formation: 5-4-1/5-2-2-1 (Two holding midfielders and two attacking midfielders)
GK – Tom McGill – 7: A strong overall performance. McGill came out on top in two one-on-one scenarios, saving one and doing enough to put the forward off for the other. He made a number of routine saves and was particularly good in possession with the exception of one crucial error. McGill misjudged the speed of Ryan Hardie who had just come onto the pitch so when the keeper tried to play the ball out, the ball ricocheted off Hardie and into the goal making it 0-1 after 67 minutes. It’s worth noting that McGill started a couple of dangerous attacks with his distribution in this game and this is the only real mistake he’s made so far whilst at Dons. Better to make that mistake now than against Bradford.
RWB – Callum Tripp – 7: In the absence of Connor Lemonheigh-Evans and Joe Pritchard, Tripp had the opportunity to make a claim for a spot in the starting XI and he did a reasonably good job. He wasn’t always convincing when defending against Plymouth’s pacey wingers but he usually did just enough to prevent them from getting through. Tripp was lacking for speed in that regard but he made up for it with his positioning. He also made some clever runs going forward that saw Dons break into advanced positions down the right. The youngster did have a chance to score one-on-one but he took too much time and tried to go around the keeper instead of shooting, an inexperienced decision. Tripp came off after 61 minutes for Albert Wood.
RCB – Sam Sherring – 7.5: Had one or two mistakes in his game but aside from this Sherring did a fantastic job at keeping Plymouth out. He contributed with important tackles and blocks over the course of the 90 minutes, sometimes getting a foot in the way at the very last second. He seemed to operate particularly well alongside Tucker.
CB – Jack Tucker – 8 (TOP DON): Tucker’s had his fair share of critics within The Dons’ fanbase but he deserves a lot of credit for this performance. Like Sherring he made one or two mistakes in possession but it was Tucker’s defending that made him stand out. He put in plenty of challenges and blocks, often positioning himself brilliantly to cut out Plymouth’s through balls before the runner got there. Tucker had an important role for defensive corners, operating as the only zonal player in a man-marking system. The idea is that if the ball is crossed into a dangerous position, Tucker can head the ball clear whilst the Plymouth players are blocked off by The Dons defenders. This was a system that proved to be effective, with Tucker winning most of his aerial battles.
LCB – Laurence Maguire – 6.5: The least convincing of the centre-back trio, over-committing needlessly a couple of times when Plymouth tried to counter-attack. This made it easy for Plymouth to play the ball around him and create an overload down the left. With this being said, Maguire did keep a clean sheet whilst he was on the pitch and he did play the ball about well enough aside from a couple of stray passes. Maguire picked up and injury and came off after 61 minutes for Nico Lawrence.
LWB – Joe Tomlinson – 7: Another solid showing from Tomlinson. He had a chance to open the scoring but couldn’t quite find the target with his effort. He was involved in a lot of The Dons’ build-up play and was able to push up so high that Maguire was able to step up into more aggressive positions as well. There were one or two times where Tomlinson probably should’ve stopped Plymouth crossing the ball in but the opposition players didn’t have the quality to pick out their targets in the box.
CM – Luke Offord – 7: Probably Offord’s best midfield showing so far. He got stuck in and did a lot of the dirty work, allowing Liam Kelly to be the playmaker. With this being said Offord did still show a good level of technical ability and he contributed to some fantastic passing moves. He came off after 61 minutes for Tom Carroll.
CM – Liam Kelly – 7: Not his best game but even then Kelly displayed some moments of pure quality, playing long range forward passes perfectly to the feet of his teammates. He was the main pivot for The Dons’ possession play, picking out passes in deep areas of the pitch and rotating the ball quickly. He did get caught out a couple of times but more often than not Kelly proved to be instrumental in getting Dons up the pitch smoothly and efficiently. He was often able to dribble past his man with ease as well. Kelly had one shot on goal but his effort was saved comfortably by the Plymouth keeper. He came off after 70 minutes for MJ Williams.
RAM – Stephen Wearne – 7.5: He went under the radar a little bit but Wearne was consistently good in possession, playing his teammates into fantastic situations and using the space on the pitch well. The attacking midfielder rarely seemed to lose the ball and his central positioning allowed Tripp to play further forward down the right. As a pair they were able to overload Plymouth’s fullback time and time again. The only disappointing thing was Wearne’s end product as he did make the wrong decision a couple of times. He had an effort saved by the Plymouth keeper. Wearne came off after 70 minutes for Tommy Leigh.
LAM – Alex Gilbey (C) – 7: Worked hard and forced the issue plenty of times. Gilbey stood out as a leader on the pitch, giving guidance to those around him, particularly the new signings that are still learning the system. He had a couple of attempts on goal but none of his efforts looked like going in. Gilbey probably should’ve had another chance to shoot later in the game but Matt Dennis opted to go for goal himself instead of setting up the captain who was in the better shooting position. Defensively Gilbey protected the defence well, pressing when required but stepping back in when Plymouth advanced further up the pitch.
ST – Callum Hendry – 7: Hendry had a slow start to the game but grew into it as time went on. He was regularly able to launch fast attacks with his flick-ons and he worked hard to get himself into the right positions. Hendry did try to go for goal on one or two occasions but he failed to find the target. Despite not being too effective in the final third, Hendry was a fantastic enabler, allowing the midfielders and wingbacks to get forward and attack in unison. He came off after 70 minutes for Matt Dennis.
SUB (LCB) – Nico Lawrence – 6.5: Looked comfortable in possession and very sharp when defending in front of him. He was able to put pressure on Plymouth’s players and forced some turnovers in possession. The slight concern is that he got caught out of position a couple of times which allowed Plymouth to run through on goal. However, given that he’s only been at the club for a couple of days, this can be put down to needing to adjust to the system.
SUB (RWB) – Albert Wood – 6.5: A strong showing from the academy wingback. He battled well and passed the ball about nicely with the likes of Tommy Leigh and Tom Carroll. He didn’t find quite as much success down the right as Tripp did though the entire side’s performance fell a little flat in the second half.
SUB (CM) – Tom Carroll – 6: Inconsistent is probably the best word to describe Carroll’s performance. He’s capable of playing defence-splitting passes in one instance then giving the ball away cheaply the next. Carroll looks to be better when he’s paired up with a player that’s more consistent than him. It’s fairly safe to say that Carroll and MJ Williams as a midfield duo simply doesn’t work. It’s far too negative and too many mistakes.
SUB (CM) – MJ Williams – 4.5: It’s through no fault of his own but Williams doesn’t suit this system at all. He doesn’t have the technical ability to be able to play one touch passes in risky positions and he’s too sluggish to be able to turn his man in those sorts of positions as well. He can get his passes right on occasion, but he’s nowhere near reliable enough. This makes him redundant for anything other than getting into physical battles in midfield.
SUB (RAM) – Tommy Leigh – 6.5: Another player that lacked consistency though it’s clear that he’s still adjusting to the system. He often sat deeper when Dennis and Gilbey were looking to press. By not committing fully to the press, Plymouth were able to play out from the back with very few issues. Leigh did create one significant chance but unfortunately it led to nothing. There is a good player in there but it may take some time to mould him into the sort of player Williamson wants him to be.
SUB (ST) – Matt Dennis – 6.5: Incredible work rate in possession but pathetic work rate out of possession. Dennis does little to contribute to pressing plays and won’t close down his man on the halfway line but if he gets anywhere near the ball he becomes an unstoppable force. He has the pace and power to get through multiple defenders in the same move and has the trickery to get the ball out from his feet and get that extra half a yard of space. Dennis did have a couple of chances to score but his finishing was below par. He made the wrong decision with his best effort anyway as he could’ve passed the ball to Gilbey who was in a much better position to shoot. Dennis will likely be more effective against League Two defences but it would be nice if he could put in more of a shift when it comes to helping the team defend.
TEAM PERFORMANCE – 7: The first half was very impressive and seemed to leave a smile on a lot of fans’ faces despite not being in the lead. Some of the football on display from Dons was sublime, cutting through Plymouth’s team like it was nothing. Although those chances weren’t capitalised on, it would suggest that League Two defences may struggle facing similar attacks. Everything seemed to click into place very quickly. There were a few errors in possession but that’s to be expected when the team are making so many passes per game.
The second half by contrast felt a lot slower and Dons didn’t adapt too well to Plymouth making the decision to press faster and more frequently. It’s likely that Bradford will try a similar aggressive press under Graham Alexander so Dons will have to find ways to beat the press without abandoning the style of play that’s been worked on all summer. There are some question marks over some of the substitutes that came on but for the most part the squad looks strong going into the start of the season. Obviously when Lemonheigh-Evans and Pritchard return that should improve depth massively as both players are able to play wingback, holding midfield and attacking midfield. However while they are absent, Tripp may have a chance to break through into the first team for good.
Though this has been an impressive pre-season for Dons, it’s only when the league begins that we can truly understand how likely we are to compete at the top end of the division this season. Bradford will be a good first test so hopefully Dons can put in a strong performance straight off the bat.
If you’ve read this far then thank you! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the game in the comments below and I hope you enjoyed the read!
