MK Dons had an afternoon to forget as they were beaten 4-0 by Peterborough United at Stadium MK.
A stunning Marcus Maddison strike had Posh on their way early before they added to their lead through first-half goals from Ivan Toney and Mohamed Eisa.
Eisa doubled his tally after half-time as the Dons were beaten on their own patch for the first time since early April.
Alex Gilbey came in for his first start since March while Dean Lewington returned to the starting XI as boss Tisdale made two changes to the side which beat Lincoln City in midweek. There were also comebacks for Brennan Dickenson and Joe Walsh – they were on the bench. Conor McGrandles and Regan Poole missed out.
Kieran Agard got behind the Posh backline straight from kick-off but the linesman’s flag denied him an opportunity on goal. The visitors had an early chance of their own through Maddison, who lifted an effort over the bar from midway inside the area.
Posh then forced a corner from which Jordan Bowery blocked an effort by Mark Beevers. They kept the pressure on and it took some quick reactions from Lee Nicholls, racing off his line, to deny Toney from a George Boyd through pass.
It was a bright start from the Cambridgeshire outfit who, in the seventh minute, had two penalty appeals waved away by referee Andy Davies. Louis Reed then fired wide with an ambitious long-range drive.
After riding the early storm, the Dons worked their way into a decent position down the right-hand side. Callum Brittain eventually delivered a ball to Bowery, whose touch let him down inside the penalty area.
Nicholls made a routine save from a Maddison free-kick in the 20th minute but the Dons goalkeeper could do nothing about his follow-up attempt shortly after, as Peterborough took the lead.
The Posh midfielder picked the ball up midway inside the half and fired an unstoppable left-footed shot past Nicholls and in to the net via the apex of the left-hand upright. 0-1.
Tisdale’s men looked for an immediate response but it was Peterborough who grabbed the second goal.
On 27 minutes, the visitors were awarded a free-kick for a foul on Maddison, five yards from the right corner of the area. He picked out Toney with his set piece and the Posh striker headed past Nicholls from six-yards out to double the advantage. 0-2.
Russell Martin headed wide from a corner as the Dons looked to reduce the deficit before half-time. Kieran Agard then had a shot blocked after a neat set-up by Bowery inside the box shortly before Gilbey curled over from the edge of the area.
However, their good work was to be undone with six minutes to play in the half as Posh extended their lead to three courtesy of Eisa, who finished off a neat attacking move with a low finish into the bottom left-hand corner. 0-3.
With their work cut out for them, the Dons went back on the attack. Brittain drilled over within a minute of the re-start. He had another go from the edge of the area moments later but saw that attempt blocked. They weren’t, however, able to pull a goal back before the half-time whistle sounded.
Tisdale made an adjustment during the interval, introducing Rhys Healey from the bench which allowed the Dons to move to a front three.
His side, though, almost found themselves four goals down as Boyd worked his way into the area. Fortunately, his effort was a tame one and Nicholls could save comfortably. Nicholls was called into action again on 58 minutes, diving down to his right to keep out a low drive from Maddison.
The Dons then produced their best attacking move of the game down the left-hand side. Lewington drove forward from the back and his eventual cross was a teasing one but neither Healey nor Agard could get a vital touch to it to turn it home.
Eisa blazed over for the visitors as they continued to threaten before Tisdale made his second substitution – Ryan Harley coming on to replace Houghton in midfield.
Moments after the substitution, Healey headed just wide from a George Williams cross. Williams delivered another ball from the right, this time for Bowery, whose header was off target.
On 58 minutes, Boateng saw a fierce long-range strike blocked by the head of Frankie Kent. Eight minutes later, Healey climbed well to meet a cross from Lewington but couldn’t keep his header down.
Nicholls was forced to tip over a try from substitute Joe Ward at the other end. A minute later, Peterborough had their fourth – Eisa with a right-footed effort into the far corner. 0-4.
Dickenson was brought on following the goal for his first appearance as an MK Dons player. The wide-man, signed from Colchester United in the summer, had missed most of pre-season due to injury.
He looked bright down the left but neither he nor a teammate could do anything about the scoreline. In fact, it was Posh who had chances to add to their lead late on but Nicholls denied them on several occasions.
Starting XI: Nicholls, Williams, Lewington (c) (Dickenson 74), Cargill, Gilbey (Healey 46), Bowery, Agard, Martin, Houghton (Harley 56), Brittain, Boateng.
Unused subs: Moore, Walsh, Nombe, Kasumu.
Booked: Boateng
Attendance: 9,402 (2,100 away)
