MK Dons were held to a fourth 1-1 draw in five league games by Tranmere Rovers on their trip to Stadium MK. Rovers had initially taken the lead through Jonny Smith’s finish into an open net but Chuks Aneke dragged his side level on the brink of half-time.
MK Dons Held to Another Draw
Positive Start Faded into Nothing
There was an air of positivity around Stadium MK prior to the game. There had been an improved performance in the draw to Yeovil in midweek and many Lincoln fans had commented on the high level of performance from the Dons during their loss against the Imps last weekend. That positivity seemed justified early on as Paul Tisdale’s team went about their business with purpose and intensity, going close twice within the opening five minutes. Rhys Healey, playing in a front two with Chuks Aneke, was played through by his strike partner but dragged his shot wide of Scott Davies’ post.
Another chance fell to Healey just a few minutes later. His shot was looped up into the air after a save from Davies and Aneke headed the rebound against the crossbar which signalled the end of a worrying opening period for the visitors. If the Dons had continued in that vein all afternoon, Tranmere could have been on the end of a cricket score.
That level of performance was not maintained, however, and Tranmere became one of the many teams to exploit the Dons’ high midfield line and high wingback line. Alex Gilbey and Ryan Watson, playing as two of a midfield three alongside Ouss Cisse, have been guilty of committing far too much in attack in early games this season and it happened again this afternoon after a fairly disciplined beginning. It left the defence exposed which, if Tranmere counter-attacked, was only a back three such was the high line of Dean Lewington and Callum Brittain in the wingback positions.
This exploitation turned to a goal for the visitors, perhaps still slightly against the run of play. Gilbey conceded possession in the centre of the park and the ball was played through to James Norwood, Rovers’ top scorer so far. You’d have put money on the man with seven goals already to stick it in the net. However, his shot was excellently saved by the leg of Lee Nicholls. Unfortunately for him, though, the ball fell ever so kindly for Jonny Smith and he rolled the ball into an empty net, despite the best efforts of Jordan Moore-Taylor to keep it out.
MK Dons found their equaliser right at the end of the half – it was much needed as well, as the second part of their first-half performance hardly bode well for what was set to come after the break. After a succession of crosses were dealt with by the Tranmere defence, Lewington made one more attempt and when his was missed by the gloves of Davies, Chuks Aneke had the simple task of powering into the open net.
Lack of Firepower
If there was one aspect of the Dons’ season so far that perfectly summed up their second half against Tranmere, it’s the lack of firepower and intensity that they have going forward. Annoyingly, they have all the potential for this, they just cannot seem to find a system that executes it.
The ‘long-ball game’ up to Chuks Aneke is what got MK Dons relegated from League One last season as it meant that they relied too heavily on him. Doing that in League Two won’t get them relegated again as there is an undoubted gap in the quality between the two leagues, but it won’t be good enough to get them back up into the third tier. However, with such a defensive formation, there is little else that can be done as once a ball is played on the floor to one of the forwards, they are swarmed by the opposition defence.
Both of these factors were evident in the second half. Aneke had ball after ball pumped towards him from the back and while standing at 6’2″, he had little chance against two centre-backs. The same can be said for Healey when the ball was played to him on the floor (as he lacks the height of Aneke) and Kieran Agard when he replaced Aneke after 83 minutes.
If MK Dons want to make full use of the strikers at their disposal (seven if you include Brandon Thomas-Asante who, with no winger positions in the current formation, will likely be deployed as a striker when played), they really ought to consider changing the formation as the current 5-3-2 does little to help the two that are tasked with scoring the goals.
Next Time
The Dons hit the road again in the week as they make the trip to Stoke-on-Trent to take on Port Vale. The Dons have not won in their last three games against Vale, two of which were 0-0 draws at Vale Park. Another point this time surely will not go down well with the fans.
Their next home game comes next Saturday against Cheltenham Town. There have only been four games between these two in history, with the Dons coming out on top in all four. The last was a 1-1 draw in the League Cup which the Dons won on penalties back in 2012/13.
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