Cheltenham draw a step in the right direction – MK Dons boss Liam Manning

Posted Sunday, October 30, 2022 by PA

Liam Manning described MK Dons’ 0-0 draw at Cheltenham as a step in the right direction.

The Dons remained in the League One relegation zone after the stalemate with their fellow strugglers.

But having started the month with five successive league defeats, the Dons have taken four points from the last two games and their head coach feels optimistic.

Manning said: “In terms of quality and chances I thought we shaded it.

“If we take a step back and look at the bigger picture, it’s a step in the right direction.

“We did a good job of pinning them back. We’ve put in a good week and come away with two clean sheets and four points.

“The only real threat coming from them was us giving away cheap free-kicks and set pieces.

“We’re now in a better spot and have to build on it.”

The highlight of a dour opening period was a fine diving save from Dons goalkeeper Jamie Cumming to keep out James Olayinka’s deflected shot in the 39th minute.

At the other end, on-loan goalkeeper Luke Southwood made a comfortable save from Bradley Johnson early on.

Johnson thumped another effort wide three minutes into the second half and Lewis Freestone made a vital challenge on Louie Barry in the box.

Cheltenham substitute Christian Norton smashed an effort over the crossbar before Ben Williams volleyed over from Sean Long’s cross.

Ex-Robins favourite Mohamed Eisa forced Southwood into a one-handed stop in the final seconds as both teams had to be content with a point.

Manning added: “I thought it was going to be a ‘written in the stars’ moment at the end for Mo, but the keeper made a good save.

“The players are now stepping it up to hit the levels we expect.

“We’re looking dangerous and now just need to add that quality in front of goal. But we still have work to do and there are things we can improve on.”

Robins boss Wade Elliott said he was proud of his players as they added another point to their tally, keeping themselves four points clear of the drop zone.

“You respect every point that we work hard to get,” he said. “We possibly did enough to win it, but their keeper has pulled off an unbelievable save from James.

“If that goes, it changes the game. We made some decent openings, but our final ball wasn’t quite correct at times.

“I was pleased with elements of the performance. For the first 20 minutes, we were possibly a little tentative, but after that we got the press right, we were aggressive and we looked to get after them, which is brave against a good footballing team like MK Dons.”