MK Dons were beaten 5-1 at home by the West Ham U21s in their first taste of the EFL Trophy this season.

Preston Fearon gave the visitors the lead, with the same player later doubling the away side’s lead. Laurence Maguire’s own goal then added to the Dons’ miserable first-half.

Aaron Collins scored a penalty in the second half, but a goal by Callum Marshall ended any hopes of a Dons comeback. Marshall then added a late fifth with the final shot of note just to add further misery to the Dons’ rough night.

With the Dons’ league form slipping to a run of just 1 league win in their last 5, Paul Warne’s side looked for something better in their first appearance in this season’s EFL Trophy.

Warne opted to ring the changes for a contest against West Ham’s academy side, with all 11 starters from the weekend’s draw at Chesterfield dropping out.

Inclusions in the side were Collins and Maguire after absences with injury, Jon Mellish after a suspension-induced absence and multiple academy graduates, including 3 making their first competitive starts in Simone Troso, Chase Medwynter and Kobe Sinclair-Linton.

West Ham had some early half-chances with Mohamadou Kante and George Earthy having shots blocked in the box.

The visiting academy side would then duly open the scoring in the 12th minute. Earthy, who spent last season playing for former Dons boss Liam Manning at Bristol City, ran into the box. The attacker teed it back for Fearon, whose low shot arrowed beyond the reach of home keeper Connal Trueman.

The Dons started slowly but began to offer a little more, with veteran keeper Lukasz Fabianski denying Will Collar’s half chance and then saving Chase Medwynter’s effort from outside the box.

But the Dons struggled to build momentum in search of an equaliser, and they conceded a second in the latter stages of the first half. Space opeend up for Mohamadou Kante down the West Ham left and he laid the ball in to Fearon, who scooped a low shot into the same corner he found with his first goal.

Things then got worse a few moments later when the West Ham kids scored again. Chukwuemeka Adiele’s first cross was blocked, but the West Ham man got space to try again and his second cross deflected in off Maguire to extend the West Ham side’s lead.

This gave the away side a comfortable lead at half-time and they nearly extended it when Callum Marshall was denied by Trueman when one-on-one in the opening minute of the second half.

MK Dons would have a snapshot when Collins’ drive from range was tipped away by Fabianski.

West Ham U21s then had a brief flurry of chances, with Marshall denied by Trueman and the Dons keeper making a flying stop to keep out Ryan Battrum’s goalbound strike from outside the box.

MK Dons then had a few chances of their own, with Fabianski denying Will Collar before West Ham just blocked a strike by Mellish on their own goal-line.

Fabianski then made another save to thwart Jonathan Leko, while young sub Revin Domi had a strike blocked by his own teammate Medwynter.

A foul on Collins then saw MK Dons awarded a penalty, which Collins duly converted to make it 3-1.

But any hopes of a Dons comeback lasted a matter of moments, before the visitors grabbed a fourth as Marshall turned in Adiele’s cross.

Marshall would grab his second and West Ham’s fifth right at the end of proceedings, with a slick finish from Regan Clayton’s free-kick to complete a heavy defeat for the home side.

The Dons’ attentions now turn to a league match against Accrington Stanley on Saturday, with their next dose of the EFL Trophy coming in the form of a trip to Reading in early October.

MK Dons: Trueman – Sinclair-Linton, Maguire (Domi 61), Mellish – Tripp, Collar, Lewis-Burgess (Thompson-Sommers 71), Troso (Guzynski 82) – Medwynter, Collins, Leko

Subs not used: Finch, Kelly, Singh-Hurditt, Burke

Goal: Collins (pen 67)

Booked: Lewis-Burgess, Mellish

West Ham U21 goals: Fearon (12, 39), Maguire (og 43), Marshall (71, 90+8)

Milton Keynes City Council has announced children in local schools are to be offered free flu vaccinations through schools.

Letters will be sent to parents across the city for the vaccination ahead of the upcoming flu seasion.

The City Council has encouraged this to help protect children and vulnerable categories from the virus.

The statement encouraging sign-ups read, “Flu can be unpleasant, but for most it will clear up in a week or two. For others, it can be more severe including people over 65, pregnant women, young children, and anyone with an underlying health condition or weakened immune system.

“Vaccinating your child will help to protect them as well as more vulnerable family and friends by preventing the spread of flu.”

Children from Reception to Year 11 will be offered a free vaccination at school.  For eligible pre-school children (aged two years or over on 31 August 2025, or aged six months and over who are in a clinical risk group), GPs will also be inviting parents to bring their children along in the coming weeks. Also, from 1 October, flu vaccinations for 2 and 3 year-olds will be available at community pharmacies across the city.

For most children aged two years and over, the flu immunisation will be offered as a nasal spray, although an injection is also available for those who cannot receive this version of the vaccine.  For eligible under twos the vaccination is offered as an injection. 

The flu injection does not contain porcine gelatin and is the best option for residents who have an intolerance or want to avoid gelatin for religious reasons.

Councillor Donna Fuller, Cabinet Member for Adults, Health, Community and Housing, said, “Children can catch and spread flu easily. Every year, thousands of children miss out on valuable time at school because they fall ill with flu. Vaccination doesn’t only protect them, but it also protects others who are vulnerable, such as babies and older people.”

Marimba Carr, Deputy Director of Public Health for Milton Keynes, added, “If your child is at a primary or secondary school then you will have the opportunity to get them vaccinated as part of the school immunisation programme. You’ll be sent a letter in the first few weeks of this school term asking for consent for your child to be vaccinated. Vaccination is safe and really is the best form of protection. We want to reduce the number of our children being admitted to hospital due to flu and encourage the uptake of the vaccine to help keep everyone well.”

The 2026 British Grand Prix at Silverstone will be hosting the F1 Sprint format.

Ahead of British Grand Prix tickets going on sale later this week, F1 have confirmed that Silverstone will host a Sprint race for the first time since hosting the debut of the F1 Sprint format in 2021.

The tweaked format, which is different to when F1 last hosted a sprint race at Silvestone in 2021, sees one practice session before a sprint qualifying session on Friday. A smaller race held at third-distance is then held on Saturday morning, with full grand prix qualifying on Saturday afternoon.

Points are awarded to those who finish in the top 8 in a sprint race, starting with 8 for the winner and counting down to 1 for 8th.

Silverstone is due to hold the race on the first weekend of July 2026, with the F1 Sprint race being held on 4 July and the British Grand Prix itself on 5 July.

The British Grand Prix is one of six races selected by F1 to host sprint events next year. The races in China, Miami, Canada, the Netherlands and Singapore will also host the other 6 sprint races dotted throughout the 2026 F1 calendar.

Next year’s F1 season will also see a major change in regulations, with engine and car design changes coming for next year.

Silverstone has confirmed that tickets for the British Grand Prix will go on general sale from 10am on Friday (19/09).

MK Dons conceded a late equaliser as they drew 1-1 with Chesterfield.

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy’s goal had given the visitors a first half lead, but an 86th minute equaliser by Tom Naylor saw Chesterfield deny MK Dons three points on the road.

A draw in Derbyshire means the Dons have won just one of their last 5 outings, although in the early League Two table, they sit just one point outside the play-off positions.

Paul Warne was forced into multiple reshuffles for the match, with Kane Wilson, Jack Sanders and Scott Hogan all out with injuries and Jon Mellish suspended, although Aaron Collins was able to return to a Dons squad for the first time since the opening match of the season.

MK Dons had the game’s first major opportunity, as Callum Paterson reached Dan Crowley’s cross only for his header to drift off target.

Lewis Gordon had Chesterfield’s first major opportunity, only for the home side’s man to be denied by Craig MacGillivray.

It would be the visitors who duly broke the deadlock. Hepburn-Murphy won the ball out wide, played a one-two with Paterson, burst into the box and fired the strike home to put the Dons in front.

Chesterfield began the second half in a busy manner seeking an equaliser, with Armando Dobra firing over and former Don Kyle McFadzean missing the target.

MK Dons sub Collins fired a chance over as the Dons sought a second that would’ve quelled their anxieties.

But Chesterfield kept plugging away and the Spireites equalised in the final stages of the contest. Liam Mandeville’s corner picked out Naylor, who rose highest to head home.

Things nearly got worse for the Dons, with Will Dickson’s strike denied by MacGillivray a few moments later.

MK Dons will next be in action on Tuesday, when they host the West Ham U21s in the EFL Trophy, before they return to league action by hosting Accrington Stanley next weekend.