There were no extraordinary celebrations from Paul Tisdale after his MK Dons side came-from-behind to secure their fifth consecutive Sky Bet League Two victory.
Tisdale’s side found themselves a goal down to Notts County at half-time on Tuesday evening but finishes from Chuks Aneke and Rhys Healey after the interval saw them walk away from Stadium MK with a full share of the spoils.
While pleased with his players’ response and the subsequent result, Tisdale certainly wasn’t jumping for joy in his post-match press conference. Why?
“This needs to become the norm,” he told the media. “We’re delighted to get the three points but I don’t feel like jumping around and celebrating because I want to make [winning] the sort of thing we do frequently.”
Tisdale continued: “It was a different challenge for us tonight, going behind against a team who positioned themselves so well that they made us play into some vulnerable areas. We were below par in terms of our possession in the first half and that was down to how they played.
“We kept it at one-nil, though, and then altered things at half-time. Kieran Agard came off but he did nothing wrong - for me it was about changing the style because we found ourselves with too many players in close proximity and that allowed them space to break into.
“Jordan Moore-Taylor went into midfield and I thought he was brilliant. He changed the style for us and his positional change just gave us that solidity in the deep-lying midfield areas.
“We positioned ourselves better in the second half and we got back into the game, creating numerous chances and scoring the two goals.
“We scored our first goal from a really good incisive bit of attacking play which resulted in the penalty, which was very well taken from Chuks. He had to wait a long time to take it and showed a lot of nerve to put that away.
“I’m really pleased to score the winning goal from a corner, which is something we’ve been working on. I want to say thank you to Mel Gwinnett - he spends most of his time with the goalkeepers but he also spends time on the analysis of our set plays. It’s something we looked at before the game and we’re really pleased it came off.
“There have been games where we haven’t got what we deserved this season,” he added. “It’s great to win a game when you’re maybe not at your best.”
The result lifted MK Dons up to second in the Sky Bet League Two table and saw them close the gap on leaders Lincoln City to just three points - some turnaround from a month ago when the team lay 13th in the table, 10 points adrift of the Imps.
Tisdale, though, is keeping his feet on the ground and offered a casual reminder that nothing is won in October.
“It’s where we are after 46 games that matter,” he said. “If we look back at where we were a month ago to where we are now, well, quite obviously, it could go the other way in a month’s time from now - not that we want it to.
“It’s a long season and there are no medals given out in October.”
Here’s what else Tisdale had to say in his post-match press conference...
On the turnaround...
“I won’t ever expect players to try any harder when we’re behind because I assume they are giving 100 percent at the start. It’s an understanding of what to do and how to improve things. They did that second half.”
On Rhys Healey...
“He has been knocking at the door in the last two or three games. It will be no surprise when the goals start coming regularly for him. It was a tight angle for his goal but you have to be positive sometimes in order to make things happen - he did that. He’s a real dynamo! He got his goal from something creative and sparky that centre forwards like to score from. He works really hard and every game it looks like he’s gaining an extra yard of strength in his legs. Long may it continue.”
On the end of the clean sheet run...
“I’m frustrated to have lost it but it was going to come at some point. In the end, it was a deflected shot from 25-yards which Lee Nicholls could do little about. These things happen but if that’s the worse that happens to us then I think we’ll take that.
On Notts County...
“Notts County were excellent. They positioned themselves on the pitch really well and they’ve got some really good players. Jon Stead really gave them a target to work to and off and I thought they were always a threat. I think, quite rightly, they’ll be disappointed they didn’t get something from the game as well.”
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Paul Tisdale's MK Dons will be looking to make it six straight Sky Bet League Two victories when they travel to Mansfield Town this weekend.
Tickets are priced £22 adults, £18 seniors (65+), £16 young adults (18-21) and £12 juniors (7-17) while under-6s’ go FREE if booked in advance of matchday from MK Dons. Ticket prices will increase on the day of the game, as detailed below.
The Club’s Official Away Travel service is running for this fixture, with spaces on the coaches priced at £17 for Season Ticket holders/members and £18 for all other supporters. Coaches will depart Stadium MK at 10.30am.
To book tickets/travel click HERE, visit the Box Office at Stadium MK or call 0333 200 5343. Tickets will be available from MK Dons until 5pm on Friday.
