Russell Martin was left feeling disappointed and frustrated after his side’s dominant performance at the Pirelli Stadium went unrewarded.
MK Dons were beaten 1-0 by Burton Albion on Tuesday, with Liam Boyce’s strike proving the difference in a match where Martin’s men enjoyed 71 per cent of the possession and had 19 shots.
“We completely dominated,” the Dons boss said in his post-match press conference. “It’s disappointing because we cannot dominate a game that much and not come away with anything.
“We didn't start well and we gave away a poor goal which gave them something to hold on to, and fair play to them for that.
“After that, we dominated. It was attack versus defence for 70 minutes. We were brave on the ball and we were excellent with our football at times. We did enough to go and win two games in everything we did but in the final third.
“We wanted to get as many attacking players on the pitch as we could towards the end - we did that and it nearly paid off. We had some really good chances, we just didn't have the final detail to score.
“We've not got a problem with scoring goals as we've shown recently. We just have to find a way to be better on a tight pitch away from home.”
While the overriding emotion for Martin and his side will be frustration at the result, the squad can take plenty of heart from what was a positive performance against a play-off chasing team who, only three months prior, dominated proceedings in the reverse fixture at Stadium MK.
“The fact we're so disappointed shows how far we've come,” Martin commented. “It was completely different from where we were last time we played them.
“On Saturday, it was not third vs 19th, as the table looked. Tonight is the same. Burton are in the play-offs and fair play, but we're turning into a good team too.
“We're raising the bar in every area and everyone is coming with us. We will get nights like tonight, but we have to overcome it and make sure we feel better about ourselves with the next one.”
