Academy director Mike Dove expressed his delight as his under-18 side put in an excellent performance to beat Aston Villa.

Liam Kelly's wonderful first-half strike and a second from Sam Baldock just after half time put the Dons in control before Villa's James Collins replied just before the hour mark.

But the young Dons held their nerve in the second half to claim the scalp of a Premiership club, and leave Dove smiling.

He said: "It's a great result against a big club, and one that beat us 3-0 earlier in the season.

"It's pleasing to see how the players have learned over the last few weeks. February has been a very busy month, with academy and reserve games the players have been playing twice a week and it has been a big test.

"In the last two academy games we drew with Watford then lost to Bristol City and both were games we should have won. The win against Villa shows they have learned from those games and that is very important."

The win came without striker Dan Powell, who missed out with illness, while Sam Collins was only just well enough to take a seat on the bench.

The Dons were rewarded for a bright start to the game when Kelly gave them the lead on 25 minutes. A cross into the box was won brilliantly in the air by Stephane Koffi, allowing Kelly to rifle home a fine half volley from just inside the penalty area.

Baldock and Koffi failed to take advantage of decent openings before the break and Dove's side had to work hard to hold onto their lead at the break.

"I felt we were slightly naive in the final 10 minutes of the half," Dove said, "and it was frustrating from my point of view. We weren't keeping the ball in the right areas of the pitch to close out the half and were making life difficult for ourselves so I told them that at half time.

"We also spoke about Bristol City game when we had been a bit slack after half time. We needed to work hard to maintain the advantage we had."

Better than maintaining it, Baldock doubled it within three minutes with a left foot shot from the right side of the box.

Villa managed a consolation when they forced home a loose ball from a free kick but were unable to break the Dons down again as they sealed a morale boosting victory.