Whilst not quite as convincing as the 4 1 scoreline suggests it was just what
the doctor ordered. No doubt the headlines will all say we beat 8 men but in
reality we beat 10 if not 11 of them (we were 2 1 up at the time of the first
sending off !)
Somewhat surprisingly (or maybe not after Gills game) there were in fact a
number of changes - Parker came in at left back (and then got what looked a bad
injury near the end - a real tragedy for the lad who looks jinxed, just hope he
is OK for next Sat but doubt it), Hughes went to right back, Becchio and Gradel
continued up front but it was in midfield that Grayson really put our season
and maybe his future on the line. He dropped the (almost) ever present Doyle
and Howson and put Johnson alongside Kilkenny in the middle with Sanchez ("you
what, you what, you what, you what , you what") Watt on the left. Luckily for
us all it actually worked.
MK Dons looked exactly what they are - a mid-table team in disarray with no
real manager, nothing to play for and a lot of injuries. We started OK with
plenty of possession and a few half chances when Watt seized brilliantly on a
bit of poor control by the defender and released Beechio (a bit like 3rd v
Carlisle) and he took the ball on and shot through the keeper and into the net.
That should of been the spark for a a rout but instead a soft free kick on the
edge of our area exposed all the defensive frailties and lack of confidence of
recent weeks, as the ball was met by an MK Dons player given the freedom of the
6 yard box to equalise. We did not quite fall to pieces and another mistake by
the defender led to him being dispossessed by Kilkenny who fed the excellent
Watt who found Max in the area and a shot ac cross the keeper made it 2 1. We
all breathed a sigh of relief and thought that that may be enough, and any
worries were lifted soon after
when Watt raced for the ball and was brought down by the defender. To the
surprise of most (if not all ) the Kop the ref reached for his red card and
that was game over as a contest. Max had a good penalty shout just after that
and we had a couple of chances in the closing minutes of the half.
Second half was one way traffic but the 3rd goal was proving elusive - then
commeth the hour, commeth the man (OK I am a big Beckford fan and making a meal
of it) - Beckford replaced Snoddy and within a couple of minutes a cross from
Becchio was lashed brilliantly on the volley into the net 3 1. We continued to
press and not long after Becks was clean through and as he was about to pull
the trigger he was brought down - 100% pen and 100% red card (them down to 10)
- Becks stepped up and buried the penalty. 4 1 and our goal difference was
matching Millwalls. Howson and Beckford both had good chances to make it 5 but
wasted them, then in the dying seconds another foul in the middle of the park
and a bit of a melee led to a booking for Collins and another red for MK.
So all in all a good afternoon - a MoM performance from Watt, goals for Becchio
and Gradel and a brace for Beckford. Grayson needs to make sure he gets the
selection right again and now we are just 2 wins from promotion - the only
black spot being the injury to Parker, whose inclusion from the start had given
us width and balance.
So on to Charlton and another must win afternoon ( I am after another ticket
for this one if anyone by some miracle has a spare - I know the last few
tickets will be on sale on Tuesady)
Dave
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