Russell Martin felt MK Dons’ late equaliser was least they deserved

Posted Sunday, September 13, 2020 by PA

MK Dons boss Russell Martin admitted he would have been furious had his side not earned something from their trip to Doncaster.

The visitors dominated large swathes of the game but found themselves a goal down when Madger Gomes put Doncaster ahead early in the second half.

It looked as though Milton Keynes would leave empty handed until Baily Cargill’s calm finish two minutes from time earned them a share of the spoils.

Given their impression on the game, Martin felt a point was the least his side deserved.

He said: “When we were 1-0 down on 86 minutes, I said that I would be really angry and disappointed if we ended up losing, because we didn’t deserve that, as we dominated the majority of the game.

“We created some good chances, but were a little bit anxious in the final third.

“The game got a bit ragged after we conceded and that was disappointing because we came away from our structure but we recovered well after that mentally and we also looked physically strong at the end. We also had two really good chances after we scored to win the game.

“It was really positive that we showed the resilience to come back from behind and it was a good point against a decent team at this level. It was a really good game of football and a good advert for League One football.”

Doncaster manager Darren Moore said he was disappointed to see his side concede late but felt the final score was a fair result.

Rovers struggled for a foothold in the game for long stretches with Moore – who named new loan signings Tyreece John-Jules and Rayhaan Tulloch from Arsenal and West Brom respectively in his starting XI – feeling they needed to show more control in midfield.

He said: “Because it was such a late goal in a tightly contested football match, you’re going to be disappointed.

“But I quite enjoyed the game. I felt it was a great game and, not to rub salt in the wounds of the fans, they would have loved it had they been in here today.

“I thought MK Dons were excellent in what they did. We’d worked on that during the week and we knew it was going to be tight between two teams that like to play football.

“When we got the goal, it was all about managing the game and looking for a second.

“We had some half spells when we might have got it but they will feel the goal they scored was well worked.

“Looking on the balance of the game, I think a point was fair for both teams.”