MK Dons begin their 2022/2023 campaign with a defeat against Cambridge United. Matt Smith, who played his second full 90-minute game for the Dons, discussed the match result with the press.
Liam Manning’s men started strong which allowed Smith a chance that crashed off the woodwork within the first 20 seconds of the fixture. Although the team started well, the midfielder admitted that their performance deteriorated within the first half.
The Welsh international said ‘Everyone knows that first half wasn't us as a performance’ although, he also expressed that ‘the reaction in the second half was a lot better’. When questioned about the first 45-minute showing, Smith said:
“Coming to a place like this, you know it’s going to be a challenge, but we were too passive, and we showed them too much respect when we were out of possession.
“It's easy to say there are a lot of new lads coming in and it does take time, but that's not an excuse, and that's not why we put in that 45-minute display. We understand that wasn’t us within the first half, but we will work on that.”
Although MK Dons ‘reacted better’ in the second 45-minutes of play, they were still unable to acquire an equaliser. Smith was then questioned about the second half reaction from the team, he replied:
“We had a lot of possession, and we controlled the game, but we didn’t cause a threat which is disappointing. It’s difficult to break teams like Cambridge down, but we’re frustrated that we couldn’t create more with the control we had.
“That being said, it’s a long season and I’m sure we’ll react positively.”
