Paul Tisdale believes his side’s performance against Northampton Town has given the team something to work off as they look to get back on the winning trail, after three games without success.
Despite a much-improved performance, MK Dons left the PTS Academy Stadium frustrated on Saturday after two late goals from the hosts ensured a share of the spoils, in a game where Tisdale’s men led 2-0 with 12 minutes remaining.
They will look to respond on New Year’s Day when they entertain Cambridge United at Stadium MK and Tisdale hopes Saturday’s positive performance can provide them with the platform they need to return to winning ways.
“It is [a disappointing result] but I want to start by saying that I felt the team played really well for 80 minutes,” Tisdale said in his post-match press conference.
“On the back of a disappointing Boxing Day, I was pleased with the response. We looked like us. I thought the players were committed to the game and we had a threat about us again.
“I thought it was, largely, a good performance - of course, on the back of that, it feels even worse to have conceded those two goals.
“We have to move on really quickly to the next game - it’s always about what’s next. We have something to work off - a performance that looked like us.
“We will work off the back of that and go again. I’m ready for it and the players will be too.”
Reflecting on Northampton’s comeback, `Tisdale said: “No matter how the game has gone for 80 minutes, the opposition is always entitled to go for it and set themselves up like they did. We just didn’t respond well enough [to the first goal].
“I’ve been doing this long enough to know one goal can quickly become two because the whole dynamic changes. The key goal was their first goal.”
The manager’s final comments were reserved for the MK Dons supporters, who travelled in their numbers - 1,449 to be exact - and were vocal in their support of the team throughout the afternoon.
“We had great support today,” Tisdale said. "I’m really pleased with the support we got from our supporters.”
Here is what else Tisdale had to say in his post-match press conference…
Credit to Northampton for their set-piece goal
“Our defensive record, by and large, has been pretty good and I’d say we have conceded an average amount of goals from set pieces compared to the rest of the league. I don’t care what level you’re at, if your opponent delivers a set piece well and run well, like Northampton did, it’s a challenge to deal with.”
No qualms about the referee
“I thought the referee had a really good game. He gave what he saw. I’m not grumbling about anything he did today."
A good and deserved second Dons goal
“It was a really good goal and it was deserved. I thought for 75-80 minutes we looked like us. I can’t recall Lee having to make a save apart from one tame effort from distance.
Praise for Baudry
“It was a big day for him. We hadn’t even considered having him available 24 hours ago but he’s been back in training for a couple of weeks and when needs must, sometimes you just have to make a decision. I know he’s a good player, he just hasn’t played football for so long. Considering he hasn’t played much football, I thought his performance was exceptional.”
