Paul Tisdale believes MK Dons should write off Tuesday’s unique defeat at Morecambe and not allow it to affect their new-found confidence.
MK Dons’ five-game winning run came to an abrupt end at the Globe Arena, in a match played in terrible conditions on the Lancashire coast.
Morecambe ran up a three-goal lead courtesy of two first-half finishes - one from the head of Ousseynou Cisse - and a third midway through the second period. Kieran Agard netted twice off the bench to give Tisdale’s men hope but the hosts netted a fourth late on to secure the points.
The Dons slipped to fourth in the table as a result of the 4-2 defeat but manager Tisdale hopes that nothing more than points were lost in the North West.
“We’ve lost three points and we have to make sure we don’t lose any more than three points,” the boss said in his post-match press conference. “By that I mean, we can’t lose any confidence and belief we’ve built up because we’ve been doing really well.
“I’m not going to assess that and be too critical of the team. I’m obviously disappointed that the ball went into our net four times, of course, and it’s disappointing to lose a game at this stage of the season, but it was an unusual night.
“The conditions were beyond difficult and it was a surface that wasn’t conducive to playing on the floor. We were caught between a rock and a hard place.
“The referee made decisions and some were good, some were bad. The players controlled the ball sometimes good, sometimes bad. Some passes were good, some were bad. I made decisions, some good and some bad. It’s difficult to assess a game like that.
“We went two goals behind, to a lucky second goal which you get on a night like this. Then a third. We gave a decent fist of it and got back into it. The fourth goal killed us.
“We tried our socks off and our players gave everything but it was a farce of a game, really. I can’t work out that game. We have to write it off and move on. It would be wrong for me to dig too deep into that.”
A talking point prior to kick-off was the exclusion of top goalscorer Kieran Agard from the starting line-up. Tisdale was asked about the striker’s omission afterwards.
“I was picking a team to get a result in these conditions. I wasn’t resting Kieran. I’m trying to pick a team which gave us enough options in the game.
“Would Kieran have done any better in the first half? I don’t know.”
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Paul Tisdale and MK Dons will look to bounce back on Saturday when they take on Stevenage at Stadium MK.
Tickets are priced from £22 adults, £17 over-65s and £7 under-18s while under-12s go FREE with a Young Dons members. This includes entry to the Marshall Arena Fan Zone from midday.
Before kick-off, supporters will be able to enjoy a host of activity in the Marshall Arena Fan Zone, with the fun getting underway from midday. Fans will be able to watch the lunchtime TV game on a big screen while, for the kids, we have inflatables and football-related games to keep them occupied.
To book tickets click HERE, visit the Box Office or call 0333 200 5343. Tickets will also be available from the cash-only ticket booths right up until kick-off.
