MK Dons captain Dean Lewington believes the side ‘thoroughly deserved’ their victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon.
Karl Robinson’s men bounced back from a run of three straight League defeats to topple the Sky Bet League 1 'big boys' on their home turf, courtesy of a 14th goal of the season by Patrick Bamford and a stunning second half strike from Ben Reeves.
The result saw the Dons close the gap on the play off places to just nine points and with three more games to go until the New Year, Lewington is hopeful the team’s performance last weekend is a sign of things to come.
Speaking to MK Dons Player after the game, the 29-year-old said: “It was nice to be able to come off the pitch with smiles on our faces; I think we thoroughly deserved the result. We’ve always seem to prefer games like these, when the stadium’s full and we’ve it's got that big game atmosphere.
“I don’t think many people outside of the camp thought we stood a chance but the Gaffer said to us before the game, if you could pick a fixture this would be the one that you’d want.
“It was a great test, at a great ground and the way they play suits us. Wolves played two up front and really tried to press so it left us room to pass it. Normally teams sit ten men behind the ball but they tried to take us on like for like and I think that helped us.
“The Gaffer just said to us, though, that this doesn’t mean much if we don’t go and win on Saturday. There’s no point winning one game away at Wolves if you’re going to lose your next couple It’s a starting point and it stops the bad run and it’s a good springboard now to go and do better."
Lewington was one of a number of players manager Robinson praised in his post-match interview on Saturday, along with striker Bamford, who netted only his second goal in nine games to get the side off the mark before half-time.
And the Dons skipper, who took his appearance total for the season up to 20 on Saturday, was just as complimentary about the Chelsea loanee’s performance.
He added: “I thought everyone did well and that’s the sign of a good team performance. Everybody had their moments in the game; Shauny (Shaun Williams) put a couple of important blocks in, the back four was solid, Pottsy (Darren Potter) and Glees (Stephen Gleeson) were excellent in midfield and we looked a threat going forward too.
“I did think Pat was excellent, though; I’d probably say that it was his best performance since he’s been here. Obviously his goal was great but so was his hold up play and he didn’t get their two centre halves a minutes peace.
“He had not scored in a few games and people often think loan spells are just for game experience but they’re also for those bad times. For Pat, it’s been beneficial having that spell and he’s come out the other side of it.
“To see him bounce back and perform the way he did was great; it shows great character from him and it certainly bodes well for his future.”
