Karl Robinson was delighted with his players after they secured a place in the second round of The FA Cup with a 4-3 victory over Port Vale.
The Dons came out on top in Saturday’s seven-goal thriller at Vale Park courtesy of Benik Afobe’s brace and goals from Carl Baker and Danny Green, both of which were firsts for the Club.
The result saw the men from MK1 book their spot in round two for the fourth season in succession.
“I’m really pleased,” Robinson told the media after the game. “I’m really pleased with how the players conducted themselves. To be here without six key individuals and still beat a Port Vale side that have been galvanised by their new manager - it was a really good win.
“Six changes was an awful lot of changes for us to make. We were always going to look disconnected in our defending because we had two days to work on it, but not going forward.
“In the first half I couldn’t believe we were 1-0 down because we were excellent. At half-time we just told to the players ‘keeping performing the way you are you should win the game’.
“Personally with the way the players performed today I felt it should have been a lot easier than how it was at the finish. It’s a really good win and to score four goals away from home, anywhere, is a great achievement.”
The two strikes from Afobe, one in the first half and one in the second, took the Arsenal loanee’s goal tally for the season up to 15 but Robinson was keen to praise the forward for his all-round play, as well as his fellow forward Will Grigg.
“Benik’s all-round play today was very good and I thought Will Grigg’s effort in the number 10 role was great to watch,” he added.
“There were some really good performances. Carl Baker was very, very good but I could go through all of them, they were all excellent.”
The Dons will discover their second round opponents when the draw takes place on Monday evening, with Robinson’s brother’s side Warrington Town still in the competition after their victory over Exeter City on Friday night.
“It would be great to get the opportunity to come up against them, obviously, but regardless who we get we’ll just be glad to be in the next round,” he added.
“I’ve said many times how much this competition means to me, I’m a football fan at heart and there is a special place in all our hearts for this wonderful competition. I was at the game on Friday and I was stood next to The FA Cup and you can only admire it.”
Finally, Robinson reserved a special mention for Port Vale for their remembrance service prior to kick off.
“It was a wonderful touch by everybody at Port Vale, it was one of the most emotional I’ve seen and it put football into context. The Last Post playing beforehand was different to anything I’ve seen before.
“It was a really classy touch and the way the fans conducted themselves was really good."
The result saw the men from MK1 book their spot in round two for the fourth season in succession.
“I’m really pleased,” Robinson told the media after the game. “I’m really pleased with how the players conducted themselves. To be here without six key individuals and still beat a Port Vale side that have been galvanised by their new manager - it was a really good win.
“Six changes was an awful lot of changes for us to make. We were always going to look disconnected in our defending because we had two days to work on it, but not going forward.
“In the first half I couldn’t believe we were 1-0 down because we were excellent. At half-time we just told to the players ‘keeping performing the way you are you should win the game’.
“Personally with the way the players performed today I felt it should have been a lot easier than how it was at the finish. It’s a really good win and to score four goals away from home, anywhere, is a great achievement.”
The two strikes from Afobe, one in the first half and one in the second, took the Arsenal loanee’s goal tally for the season up to 15 but Robinson was keen to praise the forward for his all-round play, as well as his fellow forward Will Grigg.
“Benik’s all-round play today was very good and I thought Will Grigg’s effort in the number 10 role was great to watch,” he added.
“There were some really good performances. Carl Baker was very, very good but I could go through all of them, they were all excellent.”
The Dons will discover their second round opponents when the draw takes place on Monday evening, with Robinson’s brother’s side Warrington Town still in the competition after their victory over Exeter City on Friday night.
“It would be great to get the opportunity to come up against them, obviously, but regardless who we get we’ll just be glad to be in the next round,” he added.
“I’ve said many times how much this competition means to me, I’m a football fan at heart and there is a special place in all our hearts for this wonderful competition. I was at the game on Friday and I was stood next to The FA Cup and you can only admire it.”
Finally, Robinson reserved a special mention for Port Vale for their remembrance service prior to kick off.
“It was a wonderful touch by everybody at Port Vale, it was one of the most emotional I’ve seen and it put football into context. The Last Post playing beforehand was different to anything I’ve seen before.
“It was a really classy touch and the way the fans conducted themselves was really good."
