MK Dons boss Scott Lindsey felt moments in both boxes went against his side in their defeat by Salford City.

A 1-0 loss to former MK Dons boss Karl Robinson and his in-form Salford side condemned the Dons to a fourth defeat in six matches.

Reflecting after the contest, Lindsey said he felt that the team got close but not close enough, with his side’s profligacy a particular factor.

He said, “Games are won in both boxes, that’s where games are won. We didn’t defend one action well enough and we didn’t take our chances at the other end well enough. I thought we set off really well and thought we controlled the first period of the first half, then obviously we go a goal behind and we start to play out of control football, boot it forward for no reason and it then it kind of looks a bit scruffy from there on in.”

Lindsey said that he felt the side’s problem wasn’t so much chance creation as it was being able to take them.

He said, “We still create chances in the second half but don’t take them. We probably created enough chances to win two football matches today but didn’t take them. We got through the initial press really well but were probably too anxious to shoot too soon.

“I remember two or three chances where we’ve shot from a distance we probably could’ve carried it forward more and made it a better opportunity to score. But the game was won and lost in both boxes.”

One element that Lindsey felt they needed to do better at was retaining control and focus in the face of setbacks such as falling behind.

He said, “We’ve got to have a better mentality to keep playing and stop changing. We were fine in that first 25 minutes, we had control and looked the dominant team, possession stats were good, we created, but we just seemed to change the minute the ball went in the net. We’ve got to be braver to keep playing.”

Lindsey also added, “We wasn’t as good today as we were in the Gillingham game. We became out of control in the second half and looked like a League Two team just out there trying to score a goal. We want to play with more dominance and control and have got to stop just booting the ball forward. We’re not going to score that way.”