MK Dons Unconvincingly Through to FA Cup Second Round

Three goals in the opening 14 minutes from the Dons looked to have set the tie up for victory. Ben Reeves struck brilliantly into the corner from the edge of the box. This came after just eight minutes.

Four minutes later, youngster Brandon Thomas-Asante grabbed his first goal for the club. Spennymoor goalkeeper Daniel Lowson spilt Nicky Maynard’s cross, allowing Thomas-Asante to bundle in.

Barely two minutes later, the lead was extended even further. Dean Bowditch’s cross from the right was steered home by Kieren Agard in the 14th minute to give the Dons what seemed like a comfortable lead.

However, just five minutes after Agard’s goal, the Northern Premier League side had something to cheer about. Joe Tait, one of Spennymoor’s centre-backs, steered home a header from a free-kick to send the 1,000 travelling Spennymoor fans wild.

The rest of the match was played at a moderately low tempo by the Dons. Despite controlling much of the game, they failed to score the simplest of chances. Nicky Maynard, starting for the first time in three weeks, missed numerous guilt-edged opportunities throughout, which earned him some cheers when Kabongo Tshimanga replaced him with ten minutes to go.

Soon after the young striker took his place, Spennymoor scored their second. Paul Johnson dribbled and cut in from the left before curling past Lee Nicholls in the MK Dons goal. This sent the travelling fans into raptures.

However, despite some less than convincing defending in the remaining normal and stoppage time, MK Dons hung on to record the win.

Rightly so, the Spennymoor players were applauded off the pitch by both sets of fans. They deserved far more than what they got from that game and were worthy opponents.