MK Dons continued their fine form in League Two, extending their winning run and their run of clean sheets to four games courtesy of Kieran Agard’s first-half goal. It was an entertaining affair at Stadium MK with both sides having opportunities and, in the end, it was the individual performances of three players in particular that helped them over the line.
Individual Performances Help MK Dons to Win Over Northampton
The Game Itself
The game was set up to be an entertaining fixture right from the off. Within 45 seconds, the Dons had the ball in the net through Rhys Healey, who finished into an empty net after good work from Kieran Agard and Chuks Aneke, the three of whom linked up to form a front three for the first time this season. Healey, though, was deemed to be offside and the goal was ruled out.
The only goal of the game that did stand came on the cusp of half-time. A Dean Lewington corner was met by Jordan Moore-Taylor and his goalbound header was touched into the bottom corner by Kieran Agard. There were claims of offside from Northampton, particularly goalkeeper David Cornell, but these were waved away by referee Brett Huxtable.
It wouldn’t be the first time in the game that the Cobblers were infuriated at a Huxtable decision as Jordan Turnbull and Sam Hoskins were booked in quick succession for what looked like perfectly good tackles, but the Dons felt aggrieved by some of the refereeing too, particularly with at least two penalty claims when Aneke was bundled over in the area and Healey looked to be tripped.
The last-minute defending wasn’t quite as desperate as the win at Cambridge last week for the Dons but they still allowed two late chances to their local rivals. Firstly, former Don Daniel Powell was thwarted by a stunning Lee Nicholls save after being played through by Kevin van Veen and a combination of Jack Bridge and keeper Cornell headed agonisingly wide from a 93rd-minute corner.
The Individuals
Dean Lewington
There comes a phase in almost every MK Dons season where fans claim that Lewington is ‘past it’ and should take a step back into a substitute/coaching role. That looked likely to happen in the summer when the Dons signed Mitch Hancox from Macclesfield Town. However, Hancox has not been able to get anywhere near the starting eleven because of Lewington’s performances.
The captain has had a solid season but today was by far his best performance. He was disciplined, not committing too far forward so that he could not get back, and broke up almost every attack that came down his side. He has formed a solid partnership with Baily Cargill, who can often be found underlapping Lewington when the Dons go forward, and the duo worked particularly well with Rhys Healey today, creating a threatening trio on the left-hand side.
Baily Cargill
Cargill had to bide his time to get into the squad after his arrival from Bournemouth but since a slight change of personnel at the back, he has found himself in the starting eleven more often, and he is certainly making the most of it.
Against the Cobblers, he provided a calm head at the back under some, at times, relentless pressure. His abilities to carry the ball out of defence or pick a pass into the midfield were on show on numerous occasions, as well as being able to get forward ahead of his wingback into an attacking position – it became a common sight in the game to see the 23-year-old in a crossing position.
The form that Cargill has shown in his stint in the starting eleven will surely keep him in there for the foreseeable future, and it looks increasingly likely that Mathieu Baudry will continue to struggle to get into the side due to the performances of Cargill and his fellow centre-backs – Baudry has made just one appearance and was sent off only seven minutes into it.
Rhys Healey
He may not have scored many since his loan arrival from Cardiff but Rhys Healey has really endeared himself to the MK Dons faithful with some tiresome performances. It was actually a credit to him that he was the only Dons player to be substituted today as he had run himself into the ground.
His work on the left-hand side with Cargill and Lewington mainly consisted of running into the channels to provide width when attacking and he was always on hand to feed off of long balls played towards Chuks Aneke.
His running caused constant problems for the Northampton defence and he won a number of free-kicks in dangerous areas and he could have won a penalty as well with some excellent hold-up play. The only thing missing from his performance was a goal and he came painfully close to one. A Lewington corner was headed away and after one taking one touch to control, he fired a stunning half-volley towards the top corner which crashed off the top of the crossbar.
Next Up
The Dons will have another home game next as they look to go five unbeaten on Tuesday night – they host Harry Kewell’s struggling Notts County side.
Their next Saturday game will be a trip up north to Mansfield Town. This will be their first fixture against the Stags since New Year’s Day 2008 and their first visit to Field Mill since October 2007.
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