Rob Dray proud of Taunton’s achievements des

Posted Sunday, November 06, 2022 by PA

Taunton boss Rob Dray found the Emirates FA Cup first round a bitter-sweet experience as his side lost 6-0 to League One MK Dons at Stadium MK.

The Peacocks had qualified from the FA Cup qualifying stages for the third time in the club’s history, but goals from Dawson Devoy, Will Griff, Darragh Burns, Mo Eisa and a brace from Conor Grant ended their run.

The National League South side had punched above their weight to knock out Yeovil 1-0 at the Cygnet, but couldn’t repeat the feat at the imposing 30,500-seat stadium in Buckinghamshire.

Although the result and performance were not what Dray had hoped for, he said he will hold on to the memory until the day he dies.

He said: “I’m very disappointed, but at the same time really proud of what we’ve done as a club today.

“First and foremost, getting here, playing MK Dons in the first round of the FA Cup, having a 1,000-plus fans, that will live with me for the rest of my life. That was fantastic.

“It’s incredible for the club. We need to use this as a catalyst to go again. We’ve had some massive steps forward in the last five years.

“You’ve got to use these things as fuel and capitalise on them on and off the pitch.”

Captain and centre-half Nick Grimes added their game plan went out the window when Devoy struck in the sixth minute.

“I think they had too much time on the ball in the first half,” said Grimes. “Our game plan basically was we were going to get at them, press them high.

“We were either going to nick the first goal or they were going to break us down a couple of times.

“Maybe if we drew them at the Cygnet we might have stood more of a chance.”

For MK Dons manager Liam Manning, the biggest challenge was warding off complacency to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to three matches.

He said: “Keeping the momentum was really important, despite having a couple of lads sick this week, so that’s why we made a few more changes.

“They’re tough games. You go into it with the expectation and the perception that it should be a walkover, but that’s never the case.

“It’s a big game for them so motivation-wise they’re going to be hugely up for it.”

The Dons have struggled at the start of this season, currently sitting 21st in League One after finishing third in May, and Manning acknowledged this result has not solved all their problems.

He added: “It’s a progression. We’re by no means where we want to be. We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”