MK Dons’ Interim Head Coach Ben Gladwin said he was pleased and relieved to see his side beat Morecambe.

The Dons’ caretaker won for the first time after stepping into Scott Lindsey’s shoes, with his side initially falling behind to Lee Angol’s opener before Luke Offord and Danilo Orsi goals turned the game in their favour.

Gladwin admitted he was disappointed to concede first, but said there was a sense of relief the team could turn things around to grab a first win in seven outings.

He said, “I went in at half-time a little bit grumpy in all honesty because we played so well until the penalty happened. I probably misread the situation because I thought the players weren’t very energised and I was, even when we were losing, but it’s just that anxiety. When you lose that many games in a row, it’s normal.

“I think relief is the overriding feeling and gratitude on my part for everybody involved. Obviously, I’m pleased just to get the win.”

Gladwin elaborated further that the game was a challenging one but felt the team demonstrated positive qualities to build on.

He said, “We’ve overcome a lot today. We’ve shown we can come from behind and shown so many things. We’ll review it, like every game, to see what we did well and not so well then try to learn and improve from it.”

The result was the Dons’ first win in seven games, and Gladwin said he was pleased with the base performance alongside the victory.

He said, “The performance is the most important thing to me. We won, which for everyone externally and myself, is important, but it’s the way we did it that made me really proud because I know how to judge that performance. I know how to review it say which were the good and bad bits. The fact they took on bits of information us as a coaching staff gave and they implemented them so well makes it much easier for us to review and improve for next week.”

The team had five alterations from a midweek defeat at Accrington Stanley, with Gladwin saying a challenge was narrowing down who to pick.

He said, “We’ve got a lot of players and unfortunately, you’re spoiled for choice. It makes it so hard for coaching staff to pick a team and it’s really tough to leave players out because you form a connection with everybody. That’s probably been the toughest part of the job to be honest but we found a freshness and a good solution.

“Everybody will play their part and everybody is so important.”

After two games without having a shot on target, Gladwin said he felt pleased the team showed a more positive side.

He said, “We set the players a target of how many shots we wanted them to have in the first 15 minutes – probably slightly unrealistic but it’s like a sign of the mentality we wanted to show to step forward, be aggressive and show our teeth a lot. Teams have come after us a lot and we’ve probably not hurt them as much as we should’ve. I think we got the balance good today and I’m really proud.”

Luton Town endured a miserable afternoon as they were beaten 4-0 by Burnley at Turf Moor.

In a clash between two sides relegated from last season’s Premier League, things went wrong for Luton early on when they were reduced to ten men after Kal Naismith picked up two quick yellow cards and was dismissed with less than 20 minutes gone.

Mark McGuinness’ own goal put the Clarets in front, before Lyle Foster, Josh Brownhill and Ashley Barnes scored the goals to complete a big victory for Scott Parker’s side.

Luton dropped a place to 23rd in the table and are five points from safety ahead of a big game on Tuesday night against Cardiff City, who sit in the spot immediately above the relegation zone.

The prospect of a trip to Turf Moor had looked daunting for Luton, with the Clarets unbeaten at home so far this season and having only conceded 10 league goals all season.

But the mission for Matt Bloomfield’s side became even more difficult when they were reduced to ten men after 19 minutes.

Naismith had already earned one yellow card when a clip on Brownhill was enough to earn a second booking and mean his side had to face the remaining 70 minutes with ten players.

The Hatters initially held out for ten minutes after the red, but they fell a goal down on the half-hour mark as McGuinness, who’d been brought in a post-red reshuffle, turned Connor Roberts’ cross into his own net.

Burnley duly continued to press and the hosts made it 2-0 nine minutes later, with Jaidon Anthony’s low cross turned in by Foster from close range.

A third goal for the hosts came in the opening eight minutes of the second half, as Marcus Edwards was able to pull the back for Brownhill to fire past Thomas Kaminski. Luton felt en masse that Edwards had failed to keep the ball in play, but the officials deemed he had done so and the goal stood.

Substitute Jacob Brown would come close to a consolation for Luton with a strike denied by Jacob Brown just after coming off the bench, while the hosts came close to more as Brownhill and Josh Laurent missed the target.

Burnley ultimately would grab a fourth in stoppage time at the end of the game, as Barnes rifled home Laurent’s cross from close range.

The result added to a season of miserable displays for Luton on the road, as they failed to add to a total of just five points from away games so far this season.

Northampton picked up a first win in 4 games after they defeated play-off hopefuls Leyton Orient 2-1 in East London.

First half goals by Tyler Roberts and Cameron McGeehan ultimately decided the contest in favour of Kevin Nolan’s side.

Although the hosts got a goal back through Charlie Kelman, Northampton held out to take the three points, in the process condemning their hosts to a fifth straight League One defeat.

Success at Brisbane Road took Northampton up to 17th place in the third tier table. With ten games of the season to go, they now sit 8 points clear of the third tier relegation zone.

Northampton made a bright start on their visit to Leyton Orient and after Roberts had come close with one effort, the man on loan from Birmingham would break the deadlock. The striker met Terry Taylor’s corner and duly placed a header into the back of the net.

An even first half saw both sides create opportunities. Northampton’s best opportunities saw Roberts have a shot deflected wide and Taylor saw a long-ranger saved by home goalkeeper Josh Keeley, while the hosts saw Randell Williams hit the crossbar and Dan Agyei hit the post with Lee Burge beaten.

In the final minute of regular time in the first half, Northampton were presented and duly capitalised on an opportunity for a second goal. A miscontrol by Jack Simpson saw the ball run for McGeehan, who duly beat Keeley to give the Cobblers a 2-0 half-time lead.

Things could’ve got better for Northampton and worse for Leyton Orient after the break, as Taylor and McGeehan came close with efforts.

But Leyton Orient did pull a goal back on the hour mark, with Kelman receiving Agyei’s flick-on and beating Burge with the shot to make it 2-1.

Despite having half an hour and six minutes of stoppage time, however, Leyton Orient couldn’t force a major opportunity to score again, allowing Northampton to eke out a big three points in their quest to achieve a third straight League One season.

MK Dons picked up a first win in eight matches as they came from behind to beat struggling Morecambe 2-1.

Morecambe had struck first when Lee Angol won and then scored a penalty, but the hosts equalised through Luke Offord five minutes later.

Danilo Orsi’s winner just after the hour completed a comeback in the Dons’ favour, who were able to keep the visitors at bay to record just a third victory of 2025.

Victory was the Dons’ first since beating Harrogate in late January and their first under the interim charge of Ben Gladwin, who took charge of a home game for the first time after replacing Scott Lindsey as Dons boss.

Gladwin had been given the caretaker role at Stadium MK after Lindsey’s exit last week, with the former Dons midfielder hoping for better things after a midweek defeat away at Accrington Stanley.

A reshuffled Dons side had the game’s first major opportunity, which came when a through-pass released Alex Gilbey, who was denied by Morecambe keeper Harry Burgoyne. This was the Dons’ first shot on target in three games, having failed to have a shot on target in either of their last two outings.

Fresh off the back of beating promotion chasing AFC Wimbledon in midweek, Morecambe had a decent early opportunity when the ball was worked for Callum Cooke. The midfielder’s shot was heading for the bottom corner, only to be repelled by Connal Trueman.

For most of the first half, MK Dons looked the more dangerous of the two sides. Nico Lawrence headed over from a set-piece, before Orsi hit a strike into the side-netting from Offord’s cut-back and the striker then had a first time strike kept out by Burgoyne.

But although MK Dons had possession and pressure, the hosts gifted their guests a chance to take the lead in the final ten minutes of the first half. Cooke’s through-pass released Angol, who drew out Trueman and was duly fouled by the MK Dons goalkeeper, with the Dons conceding a penalty for the fourth time in seven games.

Having scored the midweek winner against AFC, Angol duly stepped up and did the honours to put Morecambe in front.

But MK Dons trailed for all of five minutes. A foul on Aaron Nemane saw the Dons given a free-kick, and Dan Crowley’s delivery picked out Offord to head home the equaliser.

The opening phase of the second half would be a much tighter and scrappier affair, with the best chances seeing MK Dons narrowly survive a scramble from a Morecambe corner before Joe White had a half-chance hit the side-netting.

Just after the hour mark, MK Dons found themselves in front for the first time in the afternoon. Morecambe failed to clear their lines and Gilbey saw a strike saved by Burgoyne. The loose ball duly fell for Orsi, who fired into the back of the net to make it 2-1.

A couple of half-chances fell MK Dons’ way in their pursuit of a third, but Morecambe remained a threat and nearly got an equaliser. A perfectly hit cross by the away side’s wing-back Adam Lewis seemed to be on a plate for substitute Ben Tollitt, only for Laurence Maguire to just sneak in and poke the ball off his toes.

Home sub Jay Williams saw a shot deflected over and fellow replacement Tommi O’Reilly saw an effort just bounce off target.

But the nerves remained among the home crowd with the leading margin still only being one goal, and in the final stages, Morecambe had some moments. The visitors had the ball in the back of the net through Marcus Dackers, only for an offside against Jordan Slew in the build-up to be flagged, while Slew later headed over when well placed.

MK Dons would however get the job done, picking up victory at Stadium MK to ease potential relegation fears, with the side from Stadium MK now 13 points clear of the relegation zone with 11 games remaining.

MK Dons: Trueman – Offord, Lawrence, Maguire (Waller 77) – Nemane, Lemonheigh-Evans (Williams 71), Crowley (Hogan 83), Tomlinson – J. White (O’Reilly 77), Orsi (Kelly 83), Gilbey

Subs not used: MacGillivray, Patterson

Goal: Offord (42), Orsi (64)

Booked: Trueman, Lemonheigh-Evans, Lawrence

Morecambe: Burgoyne – Taylor (Williams 71), Songo’o, Stott – Millen, T. White, Cooke, Lewis – Edwards (Slew 71) – Garner (Dackers 82), Angol (Tollitt 71)

Subs not used: Hope, Dalls, Snowball

Goal: Angol (pen 37)

Booked: Taylor