Milton Keynes Dons 5 - 3 Northampton Town: Chuks Aneke bags brace as MK Dons win eight-goal thriller

Posted Sunday, January 22, 2017 by PA

Justin Edinburgh's first game in charge of Northampton ended in defeat as local rivals MK Dons won 5-3 in a thriller at Stadium MK.

Chuks Aneke bagged a brace for the hosts and Harvey Barnes scored on his MK debut in a result that saw the Dons leapfrog their opponents in the Sky Bet League One table as Robbie Neilson secured his second successive home league win.

The Dons took the lead in the 38th minute after Aneke's clever ball into the path of Kieran Agard allowed the 27-year-old to fire home his ninth goal of the season.

Neilson's side had a second little more than five minutes later, as Cobblers winger John-Joe O'Toole was judged to have handled the ball inside the box and Aneke stepped-up to smash home the resulting spot-kick.

The Dons made it three soon after the half-time break, Aneke adding his second from the edge of the box before substitutive Gregg Wylde pulled one back for the Cobblers less than a minute after entering the action.

But the hosts restored their three-goal advantage thanks to Lewin Nyatanga's deflected own goal from Darren Potter's strike.

The Cobblers pulled one back again 12 minutes later through Marc Richards' powerful header from Matty Taylor's corner before the Dons again struck through debutant Barnes.

Edinburgh's side weren't done there as Richards slotted his second home from the spot.