In an already tough and gruelling season, Karl Robinson’s side didn’t make the rest of the campaign any easier for themselves with just six points picked up in December from a possible 18. Home wins against Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City, both by a 2-1 scoreline, did help the points tally, but losses to Brentford, Ipswich, Nottingham Forest and Birmingham left the Dons struggling once again, sitting in a lowly 20th place.
Brentford 2-0 MK Dons
Many of the fans on social media dubbed this game as the worst performance of the season so far, and boss Karl Robinson had similar views, saying after the game: “We were disjointed, had no energy, were second best in every area, didn’t win a tackle or header. They have three weeks to stay in the club and that’s not individuals, that’s the whole group.” Goals from Lasse Vibe and Alan Judge undid the Dons defence, which was poor all afternoon, and wasted chances at the other end from Josh Murphy and Dean Bowditch didn’t help the away side’s cause, getting their December off to a very poor start.
MK Dons 0-1 Ipswich Town
This is another game from which the Dons should have taken something. Brett Pitman headed the away side in front against the run of play after ten minutes and Ipswich continued to dominate for the rest of the half. The second half, however, was a different story. The hosts dominated possession, yielding 64% of it, and went close late on through Samir Carruthers and Ben Reeves, but both were denied by terrific stops from Dean Gerken. Like the majority of games this season, it just wasn’t to be for the Dons, and their winless run continued.
MK Dons 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday
If Dons fans could cling onto one thing before the visit of high-flying Sheffield Wednesday, it as that currently this season the home side were unbeaten at stadium.mk on a Tuesday night. It might seem an odd thing to celebrate, but it’s worth it when the run continues. Goals from Carl Baker and Nicky Maynard capped off a dominant display from the hosts, the only downside being a late consolation from Wednesday substitute Gary Hooper. Wednesday couldn’t find an equaliser though, and Karl Robinson’s side had their first three points of December, and a first win in well over a month.
Nottingham Forest 2-1 MK Dons
The visiting fans would’ve gone to this game on a high after the unexpected midweek win against Sheffield Wednesday, but were sent crashing back down to earth within 16 minutes and the City Ground. Nelson Oliveira had the home side in front within two minutes, and Ryan Mendes added another after 16 to put the visiting Dons firmly on the back foot.
There was a vast improvement in the second half however, and the Dons once again dominated the possession. But a missed penalty from Nicky Maynard showed that the luck was out for the Dons. Josh Murphy did spark a very late revival, finishing after a neat interchange with Dean Lewington, but it wasn’t enough and MK were left frustrated again.
MK Dons 2-1 Cardiff City
Having already beaten Cardiff this season in the Capital One Cup, the MK faithful would’ve been hoping that a repeat was on the cards. It certainly seemed that way after 50 minutes, when Nicky Maynard drilled in a brilliant opening goal from the edge of the area, but the Dons’ defensive frailties were shown again late on when substitute Craig Noone was allowed to cut inside and unleash a rocket into the top corner. Most inside the stadium thought that had earned Cardiff a point, but Josh Murphy had other ideas. The same match-winner from that cup game back in August popped up to poke past David Marshall in the 90th minute and give the hosts their second win of December.
Birmingham City 1-0 MK Dons
Karl Robinson shocked the fans this game by making six changes to the side that beat Cardiff two days previously. Joe Walsh, Diego Poyet, Carl Baker, Dean Bowditch, Daniel Powell and Sam Gallagher all came into the starting eleven for the final game of 2015. The Dons could once again boast that they had more possession, but it never seems to mean anything as they rarely create anything from it.
Daniel Powell went closest for the visitors in the first half, forcing Thomas Kuszczak into a smart save. Birmingham had the best of the second half too, and finally took the lead in the 63rd minute through Jacques Maghoma’s powerful finish. It was another away day disappointment for MK, who only have one away win this season, coming on the opening day at Rotherham.
There seem to be plenty of opinions flying around Milton Keynes as to why the side are struggling so much this season. Some say it’s the weak defence, while others say it’s the lack of goals up front. It could well be a mixture of both seeing as the Dons are the second-lowest scorers in the league and have conceded 32 times.
Karl Robinson said after the game at Birmingham that he wants to bring in four players in the January window, and has three of them identified. There will be some hoping that one is a centre-back after the consistently poor performances of Antony Kay. However, his replacement at Birmingham, Joe Walsh, looked very comfortable having not played since August. One other key thing will be the need for an out and out goalscorer, something the Dons have been missing this season since the failure to capture Will Grigg in the summer.
Possible departures in January could be the former Real Madrid duo of Sergio Aguza and Cristian Benavente who have both failed to impress so far. Maybe a loan would be more suited for them as in their few games they have played their have been flashes of genuine quality, but nothing to warrant a starting place. Sam Gallagher has also failed to impress since his loan move from Southampton, so he could be another one that is on their way out in the transfer window.
It wasn’t the end to the year the Dons will have hoped for, but this season was always going to be tough and 2015 definitely brought one moment to remember, and that was promotion to this wonderful league full of quality. To be competing alongside them and holding their own in so many of those games is a real testament to this season’s squad. If some proven Championship quality can be added to that in January, survival should be within reach.
