Mark Jackson admits sense of deflation in MK Dons dressing room after late draw

Posted Sunday, April 16, 2023 by PA

Mark Jackson admitted there was a sense of deflation in the MK Dons dressing room after they conceded late on in a 2-2 League One draw against Cheltenham.

Elliot Bonds had initially opened the scoring for the visitors just 12 minutes in, but two goals from Mo Eisa – the second a penalty – gave Dons a 2-1 lead with less than half-an-hour to play.

Alfie May saw a 78th-minute penalty saved, but ultimately proved Cheltenham’s saviour with an equaliser, seven minutes into stoppage time.

It was a positive display from Dons, but ultimately an unsatisfying result, and Jackson said: “We are about 20 or 25 seconds away from victory, so of course it’s disappointing.

“Of course, there is a feeling of deflation at this moment in time, but that can’t last because of the rest of the game and how we approached the game and executed certain things in the game.

“There were lots and lots of positives, but it didn’t go our way this week and we conceded right towards the end.

“It wasn’t the start we wanted and we worked our way back into the game. It’s tough when you are going up against a team who have got a goal away from home and they are defending really well and on a really good run of form.

“They were hard to break down, but we scored at a good time just before half-time and I thought we were really positive in the second half, taking the game and creating opportunities.”

Cheltenham boss Wade Elliot was not wholly satisfied with his side’s display, but believed May’s leveller was just rewards.

He added: “We deserved something out of the game. We weren’t as good as we were on Monday, but we’ve had to show a lot of resolve and character to get the point in the manner that we did.

“We kept plugging away and trying to force the game, looking for openings because they were obviously going to drop deep as we got deeper into the game. We managed to find a way.

“I was really frustrated with the manner of both their goals really. If you break any goal down, I guess you’d be disappointed. We are not going to be perfect in every action, every week.

“The equaliser was a good goal – Broomy (Ryan Broom) did well. We ask him to stand the ball up at the back post and Caleb (Taylor) has a fair idea where it was going so positioned himself there and Alfie (May) does what he does to sniff one out.

“I haven’t seen his penalty back, but it looked a good save from where I was.”