Liam Manning’s men went unbeaten throughout February, they achieved four wins and two draws, within the six matches played.
Delight at the Stadium of Light:
MK Dons had gone five games unbeaten before they travelled to Wearside, with the hope that they could claim victory over Sunderland and continue the unbeaten streak.
Mo Eisa opened the scoring early in the second half, after the two sides went into the break with an equal score line. Although Eisa claimed the first goal, January signing Connor Wickham stole the headlines, as the former Black Cat scored the winner in a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light.
Wickham, who contributed 11 goals in 74 appearances for Sunderland, used his experience to produce a composed finish past Anthony Patterson, after the number 19 played a one-two with Troy Parrot, which created the opportunity.
The Dons claimed their victory, after back-to-back draws against Fleetwood and Ipswich Town, this also allowed the unbeaten streak to rise to six matches.
The full-backs prevail at The Valley:
The Sunderland celebrations didn’t last long, because MK Dons’ heads turned to their midweek fixture against Charlton Athletic. Once again, the Dons looked to maintain their unbeaten run as they faced, yet another, ex-premier league team.
Tennai Watson had penetrated Charlton’s back line and collected the ball, after Connor Coventry creatively played it into Watson’s path. The full-back failed to hesitate in front of goal and he took his chance well, which allowed him to slot the ball past Craig MacGillivray. MK Dons went into the break 1-0 up.
Wickham’s attempt from range was matched by MacGillivray, but the fast pace and reactions of the Aston Villa loanee, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, doubled the lead. The number 29 scored his debut goal by displaying his key attributes which surpassed the Addick’s defenders, this allowed the full-back a tap-in finish which doubled the lead.
Kesler-Hayden scored his debut goal for MK Dons, and the team managed another hard-fought victory on the road, this increased the unbeaten tally to seven.
The Dons return home:
MK Dons began their February campaign with a 2-1 victory over Lincoln City at Stadium MK, the squad then looked to complete the month successfully with their fixture against Bolton Wanderers.
Eisa’s goal in the 17th minute, meant that the forward not only granted the Dons with an early lead, but he also increased his goal tally to nine, with 11 goal contributions overall so far in the season.
Jamie Cumming produced an incredible fingertip save, which tipped the ball onto the crossbar, this was enough to deny Amadou Bakayako’s header goal bound.
Kesler-Hayden abused his speed which caught out the Trotters, this allowed the number 29 to steal the ball in an effective high-press situation. The full-back then played the ball into Scott Twine who was centred in the opposition’s area.
Twine then displayed what the number nine does best, he sent the ball home with his left-foot, which secured the victory. MK Dons carried out a full month of fixtures unbeaten, winning four out six games. Three of these triumphs, were against teams that have been involved in the top tier of English football in the previous 20 years.
