MK Dons Under-18s produced a remarkable 6-1 result over Southend United at Woughton on the Green Playing fields to claim their third consecutive EFL Youth Alliance Merit League 2 victory.
John Bitting’s boys see their third straight EFL Youth alliance victory, which has seen them ascend to within the top five of the league table.
Following back-to-back success over Brentford and Forest Green Rovers, MK Dons prepared to face a familiar opponent in Southend United. A fixture which saw no lack of goalscoring antics from the home side.
FIRST HALF
A sluggish start saw the opposition take the lead within the first eight minutes of match. 0-1
An early blow to the hosts only seemed to fuel their fire as they searched for a rapid response, which was acquired through Callum Tripp just minutes following the equaliser. 1-1
Southend looked destined to respond to the equaliser only moments after it occured, but a brilliant one-on-one stop made by Ronnie Sandford denied the visitors a chance to regain their lead.
After Tripp’s leveller, MK Dons then advanced in the hope to overturn the visitor’s earlier advantage within the match. On the 25-minute mark, the young Dons retrieved the lead through Edwin Daffern. The home side had come from behind to earn a 2-1 lead.
Daffern’s goal to gain the advantage saw the last exchange of the first 45 minutes, MK Dons had held their one-goal lead as both teams entered the break.
SECOND HALF
Southend came out of the blocks strong and started the second-half similarly to their first. Although John Bitting’s boys remained disciplined in their defensive efforts, which spurned any chance that the Shrimpers produced.
The home side’s defensive resilience created an opening, which Ed Daffern took brilliantly to claim his brace whilst doubling the lead just six minutes after the interval. 3-1
The two-goal cushion had MK Dons’ tails up and the hunt to increase their edge over Southend didn’t stop there.
Three minutes onward from Daffern’s brace, Joshua Adepoju cemented his name on the scoresheet, which allowed the Dons to go 4-1 up ahead of the hour-mark.
Even though they had given the Shrimpers a mountain to climb, John Bitting’s boys continued their goalscoring antics. Kyle Boyce was the next player to find the back of the net after smashing home past the opposition’s ‘keeper from the left of the penalty area. 5-1
An incredible display was only further heightened as substitute Jediah Bombo rounded off the scoring for John Bitting’s team.
A reverse pass from Joshua Adepoju located the run of Bombo in-behind, the number 12 then gave Southend’s shot-stopper no chance as he fired his effort into the roof of the net. 6-1
This concluded an emphatic victory for John Bitting’s boys, which also made for their third straight EFL Youth Alliance Merit League Two success.
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MK Dons: Sandford (Stacey 45), Clark-Anderson (Scholtz 60), Boyce, Tripp, Sinclair-Linton (Bombo 45), Wood, Lewis-Burgess, Troso, Adepoju, Daffern (Matthews 60), Silver (Lucas 60)
Goals: Tripp 12, Daffern 22 51, Adepoju 54, Boyce 84, Bombo 89