By Alfie Marlborough
The Dons book their place in the Round of 16 after easing past a Morecambe side who caused very few problems and bow out of the competition as a consequence.
The Dons controlled the opening stages well creating several chances early on. The first big chance came when Tennai Watson skipped through the Morecambe back line but a decent save from Ripley denied the Defender a goal in his first start since Returning from injury.
Just moments later the Dons would have another big chance on goal when Robson drove forward before having an effort saved by the goalkeeper. The loose ball fell to the feet of Jack Tucker whose poke towards goal struck the post.
Mo Eisa looked lively in the first half and was doing lots to try and break through the Morecambe defence. Lawrence played a wonderful ball across the pitch to the Striker who had the goal in his sight but Morecambe were saved by the offside flag.
Eighteen minutes in and the Dons got the goal they deserved through a stunning volley from captain Warren O’Hora. A corner had been cleared originally by the visitors but Johnson was able to pick up a shot that was hit wide by Watson before crossing it towards the back post to the Irishman who struck it beautifully into the bottom right corner to give the Dons a well-deserved goal.
The Dons’ dominance continued as Darragh Burns latched onto a loose ball and tried his luck from range which was just too high and skimmed the top of the net.
There were a few penalty shouts from the Dons especially on the right hand side. Darragh Burns had gone down multiple times but referee, Ben Toner was not having any of it and waved on play.
HALF-TIME: MKD 1-0 MOR
The Dons made a double change at the break with Mo Eisa and Tennai Watson being brought off for Daniel Oyegoke and Matt Dennis.
The young striker made an instant impact off the bench and doubled the Dons’ lead. Conor Grant played in Dennis who was able to fire home past Ripley despite being dragged down by Rawson just inside the box.
It was almost a second for Matt Dennis who had a massive opportunity to finish the game there and then. Darragh Burns played a through ball to the striker whose effort was well saved by Ripley before rebounding off the Morecambe defender and ending up just wide of the goal.
The Dons had very little to do throughout the course of the game and only faced one shot which was skied well over into the stands five minutes from time.
The Dons looked comfortable in the closing stages and were happy to see the game out and ensure their spot in the next round was secured. A few more half chances came for the Dons who looked very lively down the Left Hand Side with Lawrence confidently taking on and beating his man throughout the closing stages.
FULL-TIME: MKD 2-0 MOR
A fourth game unbeaten and a fourth Clean sheet in a row for the Dons confirms their spot in the Fourth Round of the Carabao Cup. Morecambe offered very little and caused no problems for a rotated Dons side who turn their attention back to the league in good spirits.
Next up, we host Derby in the League as we look to take the momentum from our cup successes into the league against Paul Warne’s Derby County on Saturday at 3pm.
