Karl Robinson praised goalscorer Daniel Powell along with the rest of his team after their 1-1 draw with Plymouth Argyle on Sunday.
Powell’s deflected strike just before the end preserved the Dons’ unbeaten pre-season after Pilgrims’ apprentice Ryan Lane had opened the scoring ten minutes earlier with a stunning finish.
The men from MK1 did have chances to win the game throughout the 90 minutes, most notably through Alan Smith, who saw a well-struck half-volley brilliantly saved by Argyle 'keeper Luke McCormick, but the Dons had to make do with a draw when they arguably deserved more.
With the 2013/14 Sky Bet League 1 season just around the corner, though, hard-work and good performances are all that matters to Dons boss Robinson, who told MK Dons Player after the game that he was pleased with his side’s dominant display against a Plymouth side who have bags of potential heading into their League campaign.
Speaking after the game, he said: “It was a testing run-out but I thought we were very good for large parts of that game. Their ‘keeper made two or three fantastic saves and they scored a wonder goal - they’re a really good side.
“It was a good test for us and we’re very happy that we’ve got through it. Obviously Kaysy had to come off on 20 minutes after a kick to his ankle but he seems to be okay so all-in-all it was a success.
“I think we could have scored more goals but I pleased with our front four of Smithy, Chaddy, Jason and Powelly, who I thought was sensational - that was as good a performance as I’ve seen from him in a long, long time.
“I thought maybe one or two of our senior players were a little bit sloppy buy, to be fair, in the de-brief at the end they put their hands up. In the main, though, I’m happy with that, and this trip will go down as a worthwhile one.”
, Robinson explained the reasoning behind it was to take his players away from home and prepare them for the long distance trips they’ll face next season.mkstadiumWhile many supporters were surprised with the decision to play a pre-season friendly so far away from
And the Liverpudlian insists it’s been a beneficial two days down in Devon. He added: “It’s been a learning curve for me, I’ve learnt one or two things about the group which I’m happy about.
“It’s been very worthwhile, though. We did an awful lot of work at the training ground yesterday, we stayed at a wonderful hotel which had a great pitch and it allowed us to do one or two things we wouldn’t normally do.
“Everything just seems to be going okay at the moment. Being unbeaten in pre-season doesn’t have a great standing with me to be quite honest but it’s important you come to these places and put a performance in.
“I was happy with their performance levels, I’m happy with the distances they’ve covered, and I’m happy with the intensity.”
Finally, Robinson reserved a special mention to the 42 Dons supporters who made the four and a half hour trip down to the South West for the match while also looking ahead to Wednesday’s clash with Rayo Vallecano.
“Fair play to the fans. 42 of them turned up which is a tremendous testament, so thank you to them.
“We’ve now got the X-Factor game in the week against Rayo Vallecano and it’s not very often you get the chance to play against a La Liga side, and a very talented La Liga side at that. We’re looking forward to that challenge now and it’ll no doubt throw up a completely different set of circumstances to the one’s we’ve faced today."
