Graham Alexander praises MK Dons progress after holding Notts County

Posted Sunday, September 10, 2023 by PA

Graham Alexander marvelled at the rapid progress of his MK Dons side after they held on for a point against unbeaten Notts County.

Alexander landed the League Two Manager of the Month award for August after a pleasing start to his Dons tenure and remains unbeaten on home soil after a 1-1 draw with the Magpies.

Daniel Harvie fired the hosts ahead, but they invited pressure late on after Kyle Cameron’s equaliser, leaving Alexander delighted with his team’s resolve.

He said: “It’s a good point because I think they’re a really good team.

“They’ve been together for 14-16 months playing the same way; we’re seven games into our beginning and we’ve got to be really happy and content with what we’ve done so far.

“They had a lot of possession in front of us and around us, but I thought we managed their threats really well, and they have them because they are very good.

“But we showed we had good quality as well. Straight after half-time, a fantastic goal and great quality.”

The Dons fell to their second defeat of the season at Crewe last time out as they squandered an early lead to slip to a disappointing 3-1 loss.

And Alexander believes their inability to extend their advantage proved their undoing once more.

He said: “I just maybe rue the lack of composure in a few opportunities in the second half after that goal.

“But I can’t fault the players today. They were magnificent.”

“We had to have a little response from last week and when we had the ball we used it wisely and well and when they had it we were disciplined in our shape.”

County pushed hard late on and very nearly snatched victory courtesy of a Macaulay Longstaff header, but boss Luke Williams was happy to accept a point which keeps his side inside the promotion places.

He said: “I think it was a very high-quality game for League Two.

“I thought MK Dons were very, very strong. They have real quality and they’re disciplined defensively and they were fantastic on the counter.

“For us, I was so happy because I thought they dealt with the fact it was a big game away from home against very high-quality players for the level. They dealt with all of that well.

“Disappointed to concede the goal because it seemed like one lapse in concentration from the whole game. We came back into the game and finished very strong.

“We don’t like to lose and this is going to be a tough place for every team in the division to come to try to get anything at all. I think overall we should be happy.”