By Martin Atherton
MK Dons saw out a victory over an in-form Burton Albion outfit at the Pirelli Stadium, taking them over the magic 50-point mark.
Goals from Scott Fraser and Warren O’Hora were enough for Martin’s side, though they were given a late scare through an Akins penalty.
The Dons controlled much of the first half and rightfully went in with the lead at the break.
Jerome saw a great chance within the opening minutes, having a ball pulled back to him to surely fire home – his effort, though, saved on the line.
But then that moment came – albeit perhaps with a slice of luck – as a Burton defender was adjudged to have handled an O’Riley cross in the area, the ref immediately pointing to the spot despite home protests.
Fraser, as ever, stood up to fire home and give his side a deserved early lead. 0-1!
From there, Martin’s side looked very comfortably and easily saw out the rest of the first half. HT 0-1.
The second half started much the same, Dons as always seeing plenty of the ball and creating lots of opportunities.
And it didn’t take them long at all to double their advantage after the break – a game of head tennis opening up a brilliant chance for O’Hora to head home his second of the season. 0-2!
MK then hit full cruise control as they looked to see out a third win on the bounce.
But, despite their dominance, things took a wobble as Laird went in with an unnecessary challenge and didn’t win the ball – penalty Burton, neatly dispatched by Akins. 1-2.
From there, it went from plain sailing to a nervy ending – though they were able to see off the Albion threat. In the dying minutes Burton won themselves a string of corners – Lewington with an excellent header away to deny a late equaliser.
Thankfully, though, Martin’s side were able to see things out and get a win that takes them to 51 points, a total that more or less guarantees them safety – not that there was really ever too much of a concern over recent months. FT 1-2!
An excellent result, and we really can kick back a bit now and focus on player development rather than having to look below us.
There’s the small matter of being just five points outside the Play-Offs – however, I’m personally not getting too far ahead of myself. I’d much rather we focus on getting minutes into players who will be around next season and continuing to build our team.
Come on You Dons!
