Massively disappointing today. I'm very much against making sensationalist, doom-and-gloom posts after one defeat - after all, we're still in a very very healthy position at the top of the table - but the performance was worryingly similar to that against Oxford nearly a year ago when we froze on the day and allowed a very poor team to turn us over.
All the signs looked good early on as we grabbed the initiative, Freddy firing narrowly wide with the outside of his right boot. Then Bradbury robbed an MK Dons defender on the byline and delivered a low cross which Goater converted, albeit with a somewhat scuffed shot. 1-0.
We nearly doubled the lead straight away when we cut through the Dons rearguard but an MK Dons defender made a last-gasp intervention just as Bentley was about to pounce from little more than 10 yards out.
Then everything changed. Dons' Gary Smith, who I was very impressed with throughout, cut inside from a left-wing position and unleashed a wonderful dipping, swerving drive from around 30 yards out which left Darryl motionless as it flew into the roof of the net. 1-1.
Our play dipped after that and never recovered as the Dons started to out-muscle us all over the park. We created one or two half-chances, most notably when Gower beat the offside trap down the right, only to dither when he should have hit an early shot, and the Dons' reserve keeper was never really tested. Half-time 1-1.
Things deteriorated further in the second half. We simply lacked any cohesion in possession and we kept trying to play the killer pass into the channels too early - when with some more patience, we could have regained the initiative and worked the opposition harder. The fact that Wilson and Jupp were rarely given time to break forward and overlap is indicative of our wastefulness in possession. And here is where we missed our captain.
That said, Dons were hardly threatening us either as strong winds meant that overhit passes became the norm and I thought we could at least hold out for a point. Then disaster. Wilson allowed substitute Wade Small to cut inside him around halfway and he broke clear of our midfield before playing a clever reverse pass to a team-mate, who had escaped the attentions of Bentley, and his pin-point low cross was easily converted at the far post by Scott Taylor. 2-1.
15 minutes left and on came Wayne Gray for Goater but it was too late. We barely looked like getting the equaliser and the Dons held on comfortably, leaving their fans delirious at the final whistle and audibly wondering how on earth their opponents were top of the league. Harsh but fair on this performance.
Let's just hope this was a one-off and we don't suffer a repeat of last year's jitters - I couldn't take that again. Three points next week is now imperative to maintain the gap at the top of the table and restore confidence. Come on the Blues!
Ratings:
Flahavan 6 - couldn't be blamed for either goal and had little else to do
Jupp 6 - sound game defensively, little joy on the overlap but not really his fault
Wilson 6.5 - generally solid but loses half a mark for the goal, though not helped by his teammates
Barrett 5 - looked uncomfortable today, particularly in the air as the wind made life difficult
Sodje 7 - probably the only player to come out with any real credit, defended like his life depended on it
Bradbury 6 - decent first half and did excellently for the goal but was pretty anonymous after the break
Bentley 5 - first game back and it showed, looked off the pace sadly
Guttridge 5 - industrious first half but faded badly and his passing after the break was well below his usually standards
Gower 5 - not much came off for him and he wasted a couple of very good situations with indecision at the crucial point
Goater 6 - fine first half performance with another goal and some excellent link-up play but was barely in the game after the break. replaced by Gray (75) who barely had a kick.
Eastwood 5 - a couple of trademark runs but overall a very disappointing performance by his high standards and was muscled off the ball too easily on occasions
All the signs looked good early on as we grabbed the initiative, Freddy firing narrowly wide with the outside of his right boot. Then Bradbury robbed an MK Dons defender on the byline and delivered a low cross which Goater converted, albeit with a somewhat scuffed shot. 1-0.
We nearly doubled the lead straight away when we cut through the Dons rearguard but an MK Dons defender made a last-gasp intervention just as Bentley was about to pounce from little more than 10 yards out.
Then everything changed. Dons' Gary Smith, who I was very impressed with throughout, cut inside from a left-wing position and unleashed a wonderful dipping, swerving drive from around 30 yards out which left Darryl motionless as it flew into the roof of the net. 1-1.
Our play dipped after that and never recovered as the Dons started to out-muscle us all over the park. We created one or two half-chances, most notably when Gower beat the offside trap down the right, only to dither when he should have hit an early shot, and the Dons' reserve keeper was never really tested. Half-time 1-1.
Things deteriorated further in the second half. We simply lacked any cohesion in possession and we kept trying to play the killer pass into the channels too early - when with some more patience, we could have regained the initiative and worked the opposition harder. The fact that Wilson and Jupp were rarely given time to break forward and overlap is indicative of our wastefulness in possession. And here is where we missed our captain.
That said, Dons were hardly threatening us either as strong winds meant that overhit passes became the norm and I thought we could at least hold out for a point. Then disaster. Wilson allowed substitute Wade Small to cut inside him around halfway and he broke clear of our midfield before playing a clever reverse pass to a team-mate, who had escaped the attentions of Bentley, and his pin-point low cross was easily converted at the far post by Scott Taylor. 2-1.
15 minutes left and on came Wayne Gray for Goater but it was too late. We barely looked like getting the equaliser and the Dons held on comfortably, leaving their fans delirious at the final whistle and audibly wondering how on earth their opponents were top of the league. Harsh but fair on this performance.
Let's just hope this was a one-off and we don't suffer a repeat of last year's jitters - I couldn't take that again. Three points next week is now imperative to maintain the gap at the top of the table and restore confidence. Come on the Blues!
Ratings:
Flahavan 6 - couldn't be blamed for either goal and had little else to do
Jupp 6 - sound game defensively, little joy on the overlap but not really his fault
Wilson 6.5 - generally solid but loses half a mark for the goal, though not helped by his teammates
Barrett 5 - looked uncomfortable today, particularly in the air as the wind made life difficult
Sodje 7 - probably the only player to come out with any real credit, defended like his life depended on it
Bradbury 6 - decent first half and did excellently for the goal but was pretty anonymous after the break
Bentley 5 - first game back and it showed, looked off the pace sadly
Guttridge 5 - industrious first half but faded badly and his passing after the break was well below his usually standards
Gower 5 - not much came off for him and he wasted a couple of very good situations with indecision at the crucial point
Goater 6 - fine first half performance with another goal and some excellent link-up play but was barely in the game after the break. replaced by Gray (75) who barely had a kick.
Eastwood 5 - a couple of trademark runs but overall a very disappointing performance by his high standards and was muscled off the ball too easily on occasions
