Mike Williamson lauds five-star MK Dons after big win over Walsall

Posted Saturday, March 30, 2024 by PA

Mike Williamson heaped praise on his MK Dons side after they roared back into form with a rousing 5-0 demolition of Walsall.

The Dons lost by the same scoreline on their last outing, at leaders Stockport, but responded emphatically against play-off chasing Walsall to stay in the race for automatic promotion from League Two.

With Wrexham and Mansfield still three points clear of the Dons, Williamson called for focus as his side look to reel in the top three.

“I could go through and praise the whole team but we’ve got to sort our away form out,” the Dons boss said.

“As good as that was, let’s enjoy it and we will enjoy it now, but then let’s re-focus because that’s as quick as football happens.”

Substitute Max Dean scored twice in the second half either side of goals from Alex Gilbey and Joe Tomlinson, adding to Emre Tezgel’s first-half strike for the Dons’ biggest win of the season.

“I think that’s the highs and lows of football that we all love it for,” said Williamson.

“We spoke to them before the game and we felt there was still a bit of pain from the weekend, which is perfectly natural but it’s our job to try and support and take that away and refocus.

“I thought we struggled to focus a bit this week, but then they respond like that. So I think we had a bit of apprehension.

“We’re normally very good at home but we know how good Walsall are. There just couldn’t be any complacency.

“First half was one I felt as though we controlled things, we could’ve scored more but Michael Kelly made a few good saves and there was a little tiredness out there.”

Meanwhile, Walsall head coach Mat Sadler was left bemoaning missed chances when the game was still in the balance, as his side’s play-off hopes were dented.

The Saddlers are still in a strong position, however, trailing seventh-placed Gillingham by just four points with two games in hand.

“I thought we had a couple of really good chances in the first half to go 1-0 up,” said Sadler.

“You know that these are a very good team and they’ve got the best home record for a reason. So you want to take your chances when they come and unfortunately we didn’t.

“Then the next 30 minutes become a bit of a blur, we were disappointed with where the game got away from us.

“For us, we have to dust ourselves down quickly. We didn’t get the outcome we wanted today but we’re still in a position to attack the final seven games.

“We need to get back to who we are and attack the final 30 days.”