Troy Parrott scored a stunning late goal to rescue a point for MK Dons in their 1-1 draw with AFC Wimbledon at the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
Liam Manning’s men trailed to an Alex Woodyard goal from the 20th minute through until the 81st when Parrott fired home a superb volley from Dean Lewington’s cross.
The draw was enough to see the Dons set a new club record for away games unbeaten – 12 - while it also kept them second in the Sky Bet League One table, three points clear of Rotherham United.
Team news
MK Dons made one change from the midweek win over Crewe Alexandra as Connor Wickham replaced Mo Eisa up front.
First half
The hosts started brightly and had two early opportunities to get the ball into the box from free-kicks, which were dealt with by the MK Dons defence.
The Dons had a free-kick of their own on 12 minutes but, despite a scramble on the penalty spot, weren’t able to get a shot away either.
A minute later, Josh McEachran switched play brilliantly over to Kaine Kesler Hayden, who did well to get the ball into this mix. Unfortunately for him, though, there wasn’t a teammate there to connect.
Just as it appeared the Dons were gaining control of the contest, AFC Wimbledon took the lead through their captain Alex Woodyard who drilled through a crowd of players after a free-kick was cleared only as far as the midfielder. 1-0.
The Dons immediately went on the attack and had appeals for a penalty turned down for what appeared to be a foul on Troy Parrott. At the other end, Zach Robinson fired wide for AFC Wimbledon, 18 yards from goal.
Coventry and Parrott went close to combining midway through the first half but the former’s ball was just out of his fellow Irishman’s reach. Moments later, Twine had an ambitious attempt from range fall wide.
Just past the hour mark, Harry Darling tried his luck from distance but couldn’t keep his right-footed effort down. The Dons continued to have the majority of the ball after that but weren’t able to find a way through before the break.
Half-Time - AFC Wimbledon 1-0 MK Dons
Second half
The Dons made a bright start to the second period and worked their way into the penalty area early on but Wickham’s shot was blocked. A minute later, Kesler Hayden had a try from range which was saved by Nik Tzanev.
AFC Wimbledon threatened just before the hour with teasing cross from Assal that ended up in the arms of Cumming. Manning went to his bench not long after, introducing Eisa and Theo Corbeanu in place of Wickham and Kesler Hayden.
Corbeanu sent an inviting low ball into the area on the quarter-hour but Twine was just beaten to it by an AFC Wimbledon defender. The Dons came back on the attack soon after and Eisa forced a diving save out of Tzanev.
Eisa was in again on 80 minutes but saw his attempt on goal blocked. That led to a corner, though, and from it, the Dons levelled.
The initial ball in was cleared away but only as far as Lewington, who spotted an unmarked Parrott, who hit home a stunning volley via the underside the crossbar. 1-1.
AFC Wimbledon responded from a long throw but Chislett was denied at point-blank range by Cumming. At the opposite end, Corbeanu saw a low drive towards the near post saved by Tzanev.
Corbeanu had further tries, though it was the home side who went closest to snatching all three points late with a Sam Cosrgove effort that looped just over the crossbar.
In the end, the two teams settled for a share of the spoils – one that favours the Dons more than it does AFC Wimbledon.
MK Dons: Cumming, Lewington, O’Hora, Darling, Twine, Coventry, McEachran (Kemp 89), Wickham (Eisa 60), Parrott, Harvie, Kesler Hayden (Corbeanu 60).
Subs: Ravizzoli, Smith, Kasumu, Boateng.
Goal: Parrott (81)
Booked: Harvie, O’Hora
AFC Wimbledon: Tzanev, Lawrence, Woodyard, Nightingale, Marsh, Assal (McCormick 66), Rudoni, Robinson (Chislett 75), Guinness-Walker, Heneghan, Kalambayi (Cosgrove).
Subs: Broome, Hartigan, Osei Yaw, Brown.
Goal: Woodyard (19)
Booked: Heneghan, Assal, Marsh
Referee: J Oldham
Attendance: 7,841 (1,041 away)
