MK Dons boss Karl Robinson believes his players deserve all the plaudits after their 1-0 victory over Walsall on Saturday afternoon.
Shaun Williams struck the decisive goal from a free-kick on 65 minutes to hand the Dons only their second win in seven games, a result which sees them climb to within a point of the play-off places heading into The FA Cup with Budweiser break.
It wasn’t all plain-sailing for the men for the Dons however, as in-form Walsall did play their part in what was a nervy last quarter of an hour at stadiummk but Robinson’s men hung on bravely to secure the vital victory and following the final whistle, the 33-year-old heaped praise on his players.
When speaking to the media Robinson said: “The players deserve all the plaudits today. They really put their bodies on the line and I don’t want to give credit to anyone other than them.
“Walsall are a team in good form and with so much confidence and I didn’t think it was every going to be a classic game today but I thought the way the players responded was magnificent.
“We were much the better team in the first half. We did look a little bit nervous at times but other than their one chance where Dave made a good save they didn’t create too much.
“I thought in the second half we had three of four really good chances that we didn’t take, all of them at the end of the some really good moves. The main thing is we walked away with three points and I’m more than pleased to be able to say that.
“We’re having a bad time at the moment with injuries and such like, but we’re just a point off the play-offs. We’re going under the radar but that’s the way we are.
“We’ve got two weeks now where we can put the League to bed and we can look at that table for the next 14 days and see we’re just one point off the play-offs. The break will also give us a good opportunity to get players back healthy.”
The only real talking point from an otherwise tight contest will be referee Dean Whitestone’s decision to award the Dons the free-kick from which they scored; a decision which an honest Robinson feels was a harsh one.
“I thought we should have had a penalty on Izale where he’s got goal side and gets clipped but I didn’t think it was a free-kick for our goal. I’ve got to be honest, if I was in Walsall’s shoes I’d be very disappointed with that being awarded.
“Shauny’s got a wand of a left foot, we see it consistently with the passes that he makes. He’s a wonderful player and a great asset to us.”