Russell Martin bemoaned all-too-familiar mistakes that led to MK Dons’ 1-0 defeat to Charlton Athletic.
Martin’s men enjoyed 70 per cent possession over the Addicks on Tuesday night but were unable to break their opponents down, with Liam Millar’s first-half strike ultimately proving the difference as the Dons fell to their first loss in six matches at Stadium MK.
“You could probably write the same story from the games earlier this season,” Martin said in his post-match press conference.
“I’m angry about the goal we conceded. I don’t understand why we kick it long when we did, we didn’t recover with much intensity after that and then it’s a mess in the box from the cross.
“When you go 1-0 down against a team full of professionals, who know what it takes to grind out a win, it’s going to be tough. They showed real discipline, aggression and intensity to stop us.
“When it’s like that, it comes down to dominating your opponent and having enough intelligence to get the better of them. We were really dominant but we didn’t look threatening enough.
“We got into good positions and a lot of one-v-one situations but we didn’t make them count. There wasn’t enough sharpness or quality in the final third. There was anxiety when we got there too. When we’ve been winning we’ve shown less anxiety and played with more freedom, but when we are chasing a lead that anxiety builds there is a bit more fear, and the last action is a typical example of that - we rushed it.”
Martin continued: “It’s just where we find ourselves. We’ve shown we are really competitive against everyone, and that we are hard to play against.
“It’s shown how far we’ve come that we have a lot of dominance against a team like Charlton and that we are disappointed when we lose.
“It’s frustrating, though, because we are still chasing our tail from the start of the season, when we didn’t pick up enough points. We are trying to fight and scrap to climb the table.
“We have to get back on it and recovery very quickly. The players have often done that but on Saturday, we have to show more intensity, more aggression.
“It’s a game we are looking forward to and one the players will look forward to it. We need to put in a good performance.”
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Russell Martin's MK Dons will look to bounce back on Saturday when they take on AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane.
Supporters can watch the clash LIVE on iFollow MK Dons - click HERE to purchase a Video Match Pass!
