The Dons kept their 11th clean sheet of the season in Tuesday’s victory over Sheffield United and goalkeeper David Martin was keen to pay tribute to his team-mates.
Karl Robinson’s men held off the Blades at Bramall Lane before Dele Alli’s late strike secured a 1-0 victory and moved the side just one clean sheet behind their total for the entire 2014/15 campaign.
“All the lads just defended great in front of me,” Martin told Dons Player. “It’s a whole team that is (helping to keep clean sheets).
“Kyle (McFadzean) coming in has been a great help, Jordan (Spence) being full-time as well and even when Lewie (Dean Lewington) gets injured we’ve had Lee (Hodson) coming in at left-back.
“The whole team, though, even from Benik (Afobe) and Will (Grigg) up-front, have defended amazingly and that’s sometimes what it takes.”
He continued: “We’ve also got a threat going forward with Benik and Will and that makes teams a little bit more nervous about coming onto us, which always helps – that’s the big difference from the end of last season.”
The Dons’ win in midweek, as well as extending their unbeaten run in the league to nine games, saw them climb to third in the table and close the gap on top-of-the-table Bristol City to just two points with a game in hand.
“It was a hard-fought win and you could see how much it meant to everyone here, everybody is buzzing in the dressing room. We know we didn’t play to half of what we’re capable of but you’ve sometimes got to win ugly and that was exactly it.”
The men from MK1 take a break from league action this Saturday when they do battle with Chesterfield in the FA Cup but Martin, looking ahead to next weekend’s trip to Preston North End, is optimistic the climb up the league table can continue.
“It’s nice to have a game in hand still and have a chance to fight for those first and second spots. It’s a long, long season and every team is going to have highs and lows but it’s just how you deal with that.
“Hopefully, come the end of the season, we’ll be in those top spots.”
The Dons take on Chesterfield in the second round of The FA Cup at stadiummk this Saturday - tickets are priced at £12 for adults and £1 for under-18s, while season ticket holders are entitled to a £2 discount on adult and senior tickets.
Click here to purchase tickets or visit the Box Office at stadiummk or the kiosk at thecentre:mk, call 01908 622900 or email boxoffice@mkdons.com.
“All the lads just defended great in front of me,” Martin told Dons Player. “It’s a whole team that is (helping to keep clean sheets).
“Kyle (McFadzean) coming in has been a great help, Jordan (Spence) being full-time as well and even when Lewie (Dean Lewington) gets injured we’ve had Lee (Hodson) coming in at left-back.
“The whole team, though, even from Benik (Afobe) and Will (Grigg) up-front, have defended amazingly and that’s sometimes what it takes.”
He continued: “We’ve also got a threat going forward with Benik and Will and that makes teams a little bit more nervous about coming onto us, which always helps – that’s the big difference from the end of last season.”
The Dons’ win in midweek, as well as extending their unbeaten run in the league to nine games, saw them climb to third in the table and close the gap on top-of-the-table Bristol City to just two points with a game in hand.
“It was a hard-fought win and you could see how much it meant to everyone here, everybody is buzzing in the dressing room. We know we didn’t play to half of what we’re capable of but you’ve sometimes got to win ugly and that was exactly it.”
The men from MK1 take a break from league action this Saturday when they do battle with Chesterfield in the FA Cup but Martin, looking ahead to next weekend’s trip to Preston North End, is optimistic the climb up the league table can continue.
“It’s nice to have a game in hand still and have a chance to fight for those first and second spots. It’s a long, long season and every team is going to have highs and lows but it’s just how you deal with that.
“Hopefully, come the end of the season, we’ll be in those top spots.”
The Dons take on Chesterfield in the second round of The FA Cup at stadiummk this Saturday - tickets are priced at £12 for adults and £1 for under-18s, while season ticket holders are entitled to a £2 discount on adult and senior tickets.
Click here to purchase tickets or visit the Box Office at stadiummk or the kiosk at thecentre:mk, call 01908 622900 or email boxoffice@mkdons.com.
