Robbie Neilson was pleased to see his MK Dons side secure their place in the Second Round of the Carabao Cup.
The men from MK1 beat Forest Green Rovers 1-0 at The New Lawn to progress past the round-one stage for the eighth-successive season.
“All in all, it was a good night,” Neilson told iFollow MK Dons following the extra-time success in Gloucestershire.
“It was a tough game. Credit to Forest Green for taking it to extra-time – I thought they played really well and played some good football, as we expected they would.
“We had little areas of quality but we just didn’t have that final pass or finish. To eventually get the goal, which gets over the line, was great because in these cup games it’s all about getting through.”
Here’s what else Neilson had to say in his post-match press conference...
Gboly Ariyibi stunning winning strike...
“He’s got that quality and that’s why we brought him here. His consistency needs to improve – there are periods of the game where he’s phenomenal and others where he disappears a little bit. We’re here to help him with that and improve him as a player.”
Praise for Forest Green Rovers...
“They are very good team. I expect them to be up near the top of League Two, pushing for promotion. They’ve got some good players, it’s a good set-up and they play some good football as well.”
A physical test...
“When you play against League One or League Two teams, you have to be able to deal with teams physically. We had a couple of free headers against us which was disappointing but (Lee Nicholls) dealt with things a lot of the time. We’ve managed to keep them out which is the main thing.”
Extra-time effect...
“Fitness-wise it’s great for them but we’ve got a game on Saturday and I don’t think we’ll feel the benefits of it until after Saturday. It’s going to be a tough one for us – we’ve got to travel back (on Tuesday) and then travel up to Blackpool. We’ll go there as fresh as we can and ready to go – hopefully we can start getting the points on the board in the league.”
Callum Brittain...
“I really like him. He’s got real quality and he’s got a lot of the attributes that we need at this Football Club. He’s got a good future ahead of him, he just needs to continue to work hard and do the right things.”
Paul Downing...
“We had (Joe) Walsh and (Scott) Wootton who were out today but Paul came in and did well. We’ve got a bit of strength in depth there.”
Lee Nicholls...
“I thought he did well really but I expect him to do well – the reason I put him in as number one this year was because I believe he’s got the quality to be a top keeper and I think tonight we saw that. The back four was under massive pressure in the last 10 minutes of extra-time and what you want is a strong and aggressive keeper who will come and take the crosses and he did that for us. It was another good day for him, like it was on Saturday – he has to continue to build on that.”
