The MK Dons succumbed to a classic away victory from Hereford United, who became the first team to put three goals past Martin Allen's Dons team.

A second half strike from Izale McLeod gave the Dons hope of another second half comeback, after goals from Alan Connell and Rob Purdie had put the visitors two up at the break.

The win for the Bulls was wrapped up in stoppage time with the Dons throwing men forward in search of an equaliser as Stuart Fleetwood - who had been a thorn in the Dons' side all afternoon - found the net to complete the scoring.

Dons manager Martin Allen sent the team into the game with three changes: out went Sean O'Hanlon, Clive Platt and Scott Taylor, in came Keith Andrews - back from injury - plus Ben Chorley and Izale McLeod.

Straight away, things were not to plan for the Dons. An early chance fell to the red-hairded Hereford striker Stuart Fleetwood, who forced a smart save from Adolfo Baines with a shot from the left.

But this was just a hint of what was to come, as the unmissable Fleetwood was again involved in the Bulls' early goal.

A quick counter attack down the Dons left - after a blocked shot from Paul Mitchell - allowed Fleetwood to get one on one with Ben Chorley, before again testing Baines, who could only parry the effort.

First to the rebound was Hereford forward Alan Connell who was able to force the ball home from close range and give the visitors the lead.

GOAL: MK DONS 0 HEREFORD UTD 1
Alan Connell 8

13 minutes later and things went from bad to worse for the Dons, as the visitors were awarded a penalty. A long ball over the top was collected by Andy Williams, who was promptly knocked to the ground by the on-rushing Baines, giving referee Darren Deadman no choice but to award the spot-kick.

Substitute Rob Purdie - on for former Don Trent McClenahan - promptly stepped up and found the bottom left hand corner with his first touch.

GOAL: MK DONS 0 HEREFORD UTD 2
Rob Purdie (pen) 22

Quickly after the second goal, Dons boss Allen was quick to make changes, with Platt replacing Mitchell, making way for the Dons to switch to a 3-4-3 formation.

Almost immediately, the change seemed to give the Dons more options in attack, creating an opening for Jon-Paul McGovern to shoot from distance, but his effort was over the bar and into the Cowshed.

As the game passed the half hour mark, and as the Dons turned up the heat in search of a way back into the game, Ben Chorley came close to finding the net. The stalwart centre half found himself on the end of a McGovern corner, only to see his goalbound header cleared off the line.

McGovern was again next to come close, with a spectacular looking volley in the 37th minute that flashed towards goal, but was a couple of feet wide of the upright.

Back at the other end, it was very nearly 3-0 to the visitors, with Fleetwood again causing the Dons problems in the 40th minute. This time he somehow evaded the Dons defence - perhaps in offside position - before bundling his way past Baines, only to poke the ball into the side netting.

With half time approaching, the Dons continued to press forward in search of that elusive goal, but found themselves up against a tough proposition with Hereford's five man defence strung out across their 18 yard line.

HALF TIME: MK DONS 0 HEREFORD UTD 2

After the it was probably the visitors who shaded the opening encounters until a double substitution that saw Taylor and Leon Crooks replace Aaron Wilbraham and Jamie Smith seemed to spark the Dons into life.

Under pressure from Platt, Phil Gulliver failed to clear a bal into the box, allowing McLeod to collect neatly and bury the ball past Brown in the Bulls' net.

GOAL: MK DONS 1 HEREFORD UTD 2
Izale McLeod 59

Moments later and Brown was forced to make a great stop to deny McGovern from finding the equaliser.

The former Celtic winger collect the ball in a central position, shifted it past one defender before shooting at goal. A deflection left Brown totally wrong-footed, but he was able to change direction and make the save, before booting the ball out for a corner with McLeod just inches away.

Then, with 64 minutes on the clock, drama broke out on the touchline, with Dons boss Allen dissmissed from the dugout, most likely for the vociferous nature of his comments to referee Deadman.

Two minutes later, and with their manager positioned in the Directors' Box, the Dons again came close to levelling the score, this time through skipper Andrews.

McGovern laid off a free kick for the former Hull man to power an effort at goal, which stung the hands of Brown, who held onto the ball at the second attempt.

A further three minutes later and Connell was now more than a foot away from re-doubling the visitors lead, as he collected a mis-hit clearance from Baines and attempted to lob the stranded 'keeper - fortunately for the Dons, it was just over th bar.

With the game entering the final twenty minutes, the Dons were again denied by a goal-line clearance. This time, it was Drissa Diallo with the header, only for Purdie to make the last-ditch clearance.

Seconds later and Platt came close with a header too - his effort just over the bar as he rose to meet a dangerous, hanging ball from Lloyd Dyer.

The Dons continued to push forward into the final 15 minutes, searching for the equaliser. With extra bodies going forward, that meant there were gaps at the back, which Hereford tried to expose on the break.

On one such occasion, Williams found himself in the clear in the left channel and a sneaky nutmeg on Diallo gave him space to shoot; fortunately for the Dons, Baines was equal to effort and beat the ball to safety.

Back at the other end - and with just nine minutes to go - Crooks managed to take advantageof a slip to get in behind the Bulls defence and flip a cross to McLeod at the back post, but under great pressure, his snap-volley was wide of the goal.

Another chance was to begging for the Dons in the 87th minute, when McGovern and Dyer combined to make space on the edge of the box for Andrews, who got right underneath his left foot shoot, which ended up going high over the bar.

Then, deep into stoppage time, the win for the visitors was confirmed when the lively Fleetwood completed the scoring by smashing the ball home from 18 yards.

GOAL: MK DONS 1 HEREFORD UTD 3
Stuart Fleetwood 90+

The final score of three-one was never a fair reflection on the match, but this game was always going to be tough for the Dons after conceding the early goal.

After Wednesday's cup game the Dons now have two tricky away games in the league, including a trip to Walsall where they must improve to claim anything from the division's runaway leaders.

FINAL SCORE: MK DONS 1 HEREFORD UTD 3