Assistant manager Karl Robinson admitted the Dons had laid a tactical trap for Swindon at stadiummk on Tuesday night, and the Robins flew straight into it.
Paul Ince's side were set on their way to a 2-1 win by Aaron Wilbraham's opening goal after just 70 seconds, brought about after Luke Chadwick had impishly robbed defender Sean Morrison.
James Tunnicliffe's header gave the Dons breathing space before the break and Swindon were only able to pull one back deep into stoppage time through Danny Ward.
And after a win that drew the Dons within five points of the play-offs, Robbo confessed that the crucial opener came as a result of some thorough research on Danny Wilson's team.
He told MK Dons Player: "We watched the opposition and we thought they played out from the back a lot so we felt, if we could lull one of them into a false sense of security, we could press at the right time and force a mistake. We did that early-on and it was no coincidence.
"Alby's performances have been outstanding over the last month without him getting a goal so to see that one drop for him was pleasing. He's deserved it. It was nice to get a goal from a set-piece as well because we work religiously on them and haven't scored from them enough this season.
"The result was a must tonight, we tried to play it down a bit before the game but deep down we knew it was a game we couldn't afford to lose. The pleasing thing was that we got the three points, which does our chances the world of good. It doesn't mean we're there yet and it's important we don't settle on this, we've got to pick it up even more.
"It gives us hope, momentum and it breeds confidence to go and win games. It's important we keep that going, stay on the front foot and you never know where it can take you.
"With a talented group we've got we'll be hard to beat between now and the end of the season. Not many teams have taken four points off Swindon this year - that's how good a performance that was tonight."
Watch more reaction from Karl Robinson plus soon-to-come interviews with Peter Leven and James Tunnicliffe on MK Dons Player.
