Substitute Mark Wright's 14th goal of the season gave MK Dons' title hopes a boost in an ugly game at Accrington Stanley.

Wright turned in Dean Lewington's cross with seven minutes to go as the League 2 leaders put valuable breathing space between themselves and two of their promotion rivals on Easter Monday.

The significance of this three points cannot be underestimated, for not only do the Dons stay top as they head for Wembley next week, they gained ground on Hereford and Darlington, who now look set to scrap it out for third place.

For long periods at the Fraser Eagle Stadium, Ince's team looked like being frustrated on a pitch that prevented either side playing much cohesive football.

But just as they did at Rotherham, just as they did at Hereford, they had the Wright man in the right plac, late in the game to edge them crucially into the lead.

Ten of Wright's 14 goals this season have come away from stadiummk, a man clearly revelling in a side that has the best away record in the country.

Danny Swailes and Sean O'Hanlon look to get on the end of a set-piece.

The Dons have now won six of their last seven and, with seven more to play, are steamrollering their way to the finish line.

It was obvious from the first whistle that it would not be a game for the purist as the Dons, determined to go about the game in the right way, struggled to keep possession on an increasingly difficult surface.

One free-kick on the quarter-hour summed things up perfectly as Sean O'Hanlon tried to take it quickly, only for defensive partner Danny Swailes to struggle with the bounce and be forced into a rushed clearance.

Still the visitors tried to stick to their guns and, having squandered possession inside their own half, had goalkeeper Willy Gueret to thank when he blocked first from Shaun Whalley and then from David Brown.

Dons striker Aaron Wilbraham goes down in the area.

O'Hanlon missed the best chance of the half from a Jude Stirling throw-in on 26 minutes, heading over from six yards after meeting Swailes' flick, before Gueret had to scramble across goal and watch a Whalley effort fly wide from 20 yards.

It was rough and ready in the extreme but the Dons nearly went into the break in front.

Keith Andrews worked a short corner with Lewington, whose fierce low shot from the left caused havoc in the Stanley penalty area.

Stirling couldn't finish it, neither could Swailes, and while O'Hanlon probably should have, his shot ended up in the terraces.

The home side were frustrating the visitors more than threatening them, but when the teams emerged for the second half, the Dons decided to scrap it out with them.

Lloyd Dyer can't get round Andy Todd.

Lloyd Dyer came into his own, feeding off the scraps Aaron Wilbraham and Kevin Gallen were able to win and causing several problems down both flanks and winning free-kicks in good positions.

But given the state of the pitch, set-pieces were barely worth winning as both Lewington and Andrews struggled to make the delivery count.

The Dons were gradually forcing Accrington back and were forced to defend less and less as they ground John Coleman's team down.

Andrews was denied a shooting chance by a brilliant Phil Edwards block, after the Dons skipper had turned beautifully in the area.

Gallen curled a shot just past the post on 56 minutes after turning on a Lewington throw before firing straight at Stanley 'keeper Kenny Arthur from the same man's cross as the Dons started to up the pressure.

John Miles faces his parent club in a Dons shirt.

A shot from Whalley aside that Gueret caught on the run, Accrington were providing little at the other end and looked content to scrap out a point.

Edwards was leading them there brilliantly - blocking, heading and throwing himself into everything in black that moved. But they were finally undone on 83 minutes.

Wilbraham pulled wide to the left to create space for Lewington cross and the full-back obliged with a ball to the near post.

Substitute Jemal Johnson ducked underneath it, allowing the ball to run through the box, and Wright arrived from deep to hook it home.

Relief swept through the team, Ince's decision to utilise Wright from the bench completely justified as he caught a tiring Stanley defence flat-footed at the far post.

Masters of closing out the game, few were in any doubt that the Dons would leave with the points, but it wasn't the end of the drama.

Mark Wright celebrates his 14th goal of the season late in the game.

Alan Navarro and Andrew Proctor clashed right in front of the dugouts in a row Dons assistant Ray Mathias became involved in.

Stanley full-back Leam Richardson knocked Mathias over as he went to take the throw-in and all hell broke loose before Coleman was sent to the stands for encroaching on the pitch.

It left a sharp edge to a game that, brutal as it was, had been played in good spirits by two committed sets of players.

But three points takes the Dons to 82 for the season as they head for Sunday's Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final at Wembley.

They can now play that game knowing their place in the automatic promotion spots is as strong as it has ever been.

Four wins and a draw would see them mathematically promoted, in reality it might not take even that now.

Accrington Stanley: Arthur, Richardson, Kempson, Thomas, Edwards, Todd, Procter, Harris, Whalley (Mangan 73), Brown (Branch 85), Craney.

Subs Not Used: Dunbavin, Webb, Mannix

Booked: Harris, Todd, Richardson

MK Dons: Gueret, Stirling, O'Hanlon, Swailes, Lewington, Miles (Wright 56), Dyer, Andrews, Navarro, Gallen (Johnson 65), Wilbraham.

Subs Not Used: Cameron, Abbey, Hadfield

Booked: Andrews, Dyer

Goals: Wright (83)

Attendance: 1,559

Referee: Eddie Ilderton (Tyne & Wear)