MK Dons Under-18s came away with a creditable point from their opening game of the Premier Academy League season at Stoke City.
Mike Dove's youngsters showed plenty of early-season promise at the Potters' Michelin Training Ground on Saturday and might have won the game having held the lead during the second half.
Stoke had taken a 15th-minute lead through Adam Vickers before Igor Coronado brought the Dons level just before half-time. Troy Farden then put the visitors in front with a well-taken goal early in the second half, only for Stoke's Matt Cohen to ensure the spoils were shared.
"It was a very positive performance against a good Stoke side," Mike said, "but it took us some time to get going early-on.
"We needed to show a bit more belief in each other to play the right pass in the opening stages and once we started to do that we played some excellent football.
"Building on our pre-season games, it was some of the best football this group has played and that should give us plenty of confidence."
A reshuffled Dons defence missing Adam Chicksen to first team duty was breached on 15 minutes by a surging Louis Moult run - the Stoke striker beating George Williams and Jordan Ivy-Ward on his way into the box before setting up Vickers for the opener.
It was a super Dons move that brought them level on 41 minutes, started by Mark Lee, who won possession in midfield before feeding Charlie Collins on the left. The Republic of Ireland Under-18 international drove inside before finding Harry Milton on the overlap, whose low centre was tucked away confidently by Coronado.
Stoke came out strongly after the break with Moult firing a shot just over, but it was the Dons that took the lead on 52 minutes. Having received a quick free-kick from goalkeeper Ashley Harrison, Flanagan sent a raking long pass into the path of Farden, who was able to control with his first touch and fire past the goalkeeper with his second.
An injury to Harrison, who collided with the frame of the goal after bravely tipping a long-range shot over, saw young Daniel Glass come on between the sticks.
But the first year apprentice was left frustrated when Ryan Connor's 69th-minute corner found the head of the unmarked Cohen, who headed home to bring the Potters level.
Flanagan headed a Coronado free-kick just over shortly afterwards, before Glass was forced into a good one-on-one save from substitute Jack Harrison late on.
Dons (4-1-2-1-2): Harrison (Glass 56); Williams, Ivy-Ward, Flanagan (c), Milton; Lee; Browne, Farden; M. Powell; Coronado (S. Powell 79 (Ahmed 86)), Collins.
Subs not used: Gyasi.
