Karl Robinson praised his players after they dug deep to claim an important win over Rotherham United on Saturday afternoon.
.mkstadiumDespite leading 2-0 heading into the final 27 minutes, courtesy of a penalty from Shaun Williams and Ben Reeves’ first League goal for the Club, the men from MK1 found themselves level heading into the closing stages but Patrick Bamford’s terrific late strike handed them the three points on a memorable day at
The win, the Dons’ fifth at home this season, saw the side put an end to a run of three straight defeats while also climb back to within a point of the play-off places and their manager Robinson was understandably relieved at the final whistle.
Speaking to MK Dons Player after the game, the 33-year-old said: “I thought we were very, very good before we conceded them two silly goals. At 2-0 I thought everybody seemed confident and complacency set in and against good sides, complacency can cost you.
“Luckily for us we got over the complacency and fought back to win the game. Last year we would have drawn that or even thrown the towel in and conceded another one but the grit and determination got us through.
“I think you could see from the way they celebrated that third goal, that’s a team that’s together. There were 10 players out of our 18 that were under the age of 23.. We’ve got such a young side but we’ve got so much quality.
“There were mistakes in that today and although, fortunately, they didn’t cost us they could have so it’s important we learn from it.
“But that was an important win and I thought the way we played today deserved the three points. That’s a good Rotherham side, they’re not a bad team and their performances and results will show that.
“For us to conduct ourselves like we did today, albeit we got out of it through a wonderful, is a testament to the boys.”
Several eyebrows were raised prior to kick-off at the news that Robinson had included Jason Banton and Ben Reeves in his starting line-up, both of whom had been left out in recent weeks. However, the two players certainly justified their selection with their performance and the latter even grabbed the Dons’ second goal.
Robinson, therefore, was keen to praise the duo in his post-match interview as well as give a special mention to his in-form striker Bamford, who will no doubt steal the headlines for his super winning goal.
“(Reeves and Banton) played really, really well” he added. “Jason knows what it takes to play for this Football Club now - hard work - and today he worked his socks off.
“He’s worked his socks off in training, he’s been in every day and worked on things and as a result we got a performance like that. I felt sorry for him in the end because I felt his performance deserved a goal.
“We went with Reevesy in the middle because he deserves a chance. He’s been training very well and he’s a talented young player.
“(Patrick), though, is just unbelievable. I’m enjoying working with him. He’s now got 12 goals in his last 11 games and that’s a remarkable record for somebody of his age. We generally score good goals or goals that come from a good bit of play and his last one was an example of that.
“Sometimes them type of efforts end up in the lovely new seats we’ve got in the top tier but sometimes they end up in the top corner, like they did today.”
