An unfortunate own goal from John Mousinho in the first half and a Will Grigg penalty late in the day were enough to give MK Dons a 2-1 win at the Kassam Stadium this afternoon despite Mousinho also netting at the right end.
Mousinho got the decisive touch to a Matt Smith cross as he tried to clear danger in the first half and Grigg made no mistake from the spot, after being brought down, as Karl Robinson endured a frustrating day against his former club despite Mousinho's late consolation.
After an emotional start to the day’s action the mood was understandably muted as defences dominated, especially during the first 45 minutes, but it was the Dons who came out on top in the crucial moments.
It took a couple of fine challenges from Mousinho and Sam Long to stop the visitors in the first 20 minutes but the fact the away end exploded into a joyful chorus of ‘Shot on Target’ after 21 minutes underlined the visitors’ problems this season - Simon Eastwood easily stopping that effort anyway.
The problem was, United hadn’t mustered one of their own in the first half despite three very clear chances. First Kyle Joseph, tireless in closing down defenders and always an eager runner, stabbed a chance over from a Billy Bodin free kick and then four minutes from the break United somehow managed to hit both posts from close range with successive touches of the ball: Marcus Browne fired against the right-hand one, Brannagan blasted the rebound against the left.
Those few seconds were key. Two minutes from the break, Matt Smith scampered away in the right channel, raced into the box and drove the ball across goal. Mousinho did all he could to stop the ball going in, but only succeeded in deflecting it into his own net to give the Dons a 1-0 lead at half time.
Attacking the Fence End, United showed more intent. Browne had an early free kick smothered by keeper Jamie Cumming. Joseph was an inch away from a Brown cross. Browne tested the keeper's handling with a low drive on 62, but the visitors had largely weathered the storm by then and fresh legs, in the shape of Lewis Bate and Tyler Goodrham, were introduced to try and lift things.
With MK now reliant on the counter attack, the U's penned them back but were becoming increasingly frustrated as they camped outside the MK box without being able to force their way beyond. Almost inevitably, they then fell for the sucker punch with five minutes left, as sub Grigg touched the ball past the diving Eastwood who caught his heels. Grigg fired home from the spot and United were beaten, despite Mousinho rising to head home a 90th-minute goal that raised hopes.
A frantic five minutes of injury time saw the urgency turned up to 11, loud shouts for a penalty for handball turned down, and United throwing everything they had at the visitors.
For once, no late drama, just dreams of what might have been.
Two weeks before a game now. Players will return from injury by then. Time to take stock, rest up, and then go again...
Att: 8,141
Away: 715
Fifty/50 winning number 44694 wins £790.50
Report by Chris Williams, pictures Steve Edmunds, Steve Daniels and Rex Shutterstock, stats by OPTA