MK Dons picked up their first win of the new season with a 3-0 win over Carlisle United at Stadium MK.
First half goals by Callum Hendry and Alex Gilbey gave the home side the advantage before an injury time third by Joe Tomlinson secured Mike Williamson’s side their first win of the new campaign.
Success saw the Dons bounce back from three defeats in league and cup, as they popped up to 15th place in the table after the opening stages following their last game of August.
A reshuffled Dons side included a Dons debut for Laurence Maguire and a first start for his fellow summer arrival Connor Lemonhaigh-Evans, who made his debut as a substitute last week.
The opening phase of the game saw sporadic half-chances, with Carlisle seeing an opening nearly open for Daniel Adu-Adjei without yielding a shot before Aaron Hayden had a shot from range kept out by Tom McGill, while the Dons saw Lemonhaigh-Evans have a shot from range fall wide of the mark.
But with 18 minutes of the clock, space opened up and it yielded a Dons goal. Gilbey was able to thread the ball through to Aaron Nemane, who got space to run down the right flank before teeing up Hendry for a first-time shot into the bottom corner for his first Dons goal.
Tomlinson then saw a strike denied by Harry Lewis, before another Nemane cross saw a scramble at the near post as the Dons began to develop momentum.
The hosts would duly grab a second just after the half hour mark. Space opened up down the flank for Lemonhaigh-Evans, who found Nemane. The wing-back’s cross was duly in place for Gilbey, who slid in to get the ball into the Carlisle goal and had the Dons a second goal.
MK Dons came close again when Lewis denied Hendry, with Carlisle’s best chances of an immediate response seeing efforts from outside the box by Harrison Neal and Ben Barclay blocked.
The Dons were forced into a change just after the break, however, as after picking up two knocks that required treatment, Luke Offord was taken off injured.
Carlisle were then very close a way back when the ball fell kindly for Adu-Adjei, who rushed his shot when well placed and put it wide.
Adu-Adjei then saw another shot on the stretch denied by home goalkeeper Tom McGill, before the Dons’ Stephen Wearne saw a curling shot just flash past the target.
McGill then made a flying stop to deny Carlisle substitute Dominic Sadi, with the visitors also having two penalty appeals waved away.
But the visitors’ attempts at halving the deficit ran out of steam, and the Dons would duly grab a late third.
Tomlinson was picked out in space on the side of the penalty area by substitute Tommy Leigh, and the wing-back’s strike ended up creeping in to the back post, despite both Ellis Harrison and Gilbey coming close to getting a touch.
Things could’ve been worse for Carlisle, with Tomlinson and Callum Tripp both missing the target with late efforts, but the home side had done the job to get the victory.
MK Dons: McGill – Sherring, Offord (Tucker 54), Maguire – Nemane (Tripp 90), Lemonhaigh-Evans (Williams 90), Carroll, Tomlinson – Wearne (Leigh 80), Hendry (Harrison 80), Gilbey
Subs not used: Harness, Lewington, Williams, Tripp
Goal: Hendry (19), Gilbey (31)
Booked: Wearne, Nemane
Carlisle: Lewis – Davies, Williams, Hayden, Lavelle, Mellish (Ellis 73) – Vela, Barclay (Sadi 45), Neal – Wyke (Kelly 73 (Butterworth 85)), Adu-Adjei (Armstrong 67)
Subs not used: Breeze, Butterworth, Allen
Northampton played out a 2-2 draw with Barnsley thanks to two goals in quick succession to wipe out a two goal deficit.
Barnsley had taken the lead through Max Watters just before the half-hour mark and doubled it through Adam Phillips in the opening minute of the second half.
But substitute Liam McCarron halved Barnsley’s lead and within five minutes, fellow sub Jack Baldwin’s goal brought Northampton back on level terms.
A draw means that Northampton pick up their first draw of the season, having lost one and won one of their first two games of the new League One campaign.
A busy start at Oakwell saw multiple early chances. Luke Mbete headed wide from a corner by Cobblers debutant Samy Chouchane, before Barnsley’s Sam Cosgrove fired a rebound wide when well placed.
Mbete saw a cross deflected just wide by a Barnsley defender, but it would be the home side that got the game’s first goal.
That came from Watters, with the former Cardiff striker in place to score after receiving Cosgrove’s lay-off.
The Cobblers lost Jordan Willis to injury but would have chances in the latter stages of the first half, as Mitch Pinnock and Sam Hoskins saw strikes just miss the target before Willis’ replacement Baldwin forced a flying stop out of Barnsley goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina.
That save proved more crucial for Barnsley when they took a 2-0 lead early in the second half. A clearance by Baldwin was intercepted, allowing Phillips to advance and beat Lee Burge in a one-on-one.
Barnsley had chances to pull further ahead, with Cosgrove hitting the crossbar and firing another strike wide.
But Northampton then made things interesting when they scored a goal back with just under 20 minutes remaining. McCarron, who had just come on, received Callum Morton’s pass and was able to pick his spot and score.
Northampton would gain momentum and equalised five minutes later, as a header from Baldwin when he met Pinnock’s free-kick found the back of the net despite Baldwin getting knocked by a home player.
The visitors would see the job through to take a point on their trip to a side who qualified for the play-offs season, giving Northampton four points from their first three goals of the season. Jon Brady’s side will seek to add to their total when they welcome Burton Albion to Sixfields next Saturday.
Police are appealing for witnesses after an arson incident in the car park of a supermarket in Milton Keynes.
As part of their appeal, Thames Valley Police have released images of men that they wish to speak to in relation to the incident, which happened at around 11.55pm last Saturday (17/8).
The incident happened in the car park of the Asda supermarket on Bletcham Way in the Denbigh area of the city.
A group had turned up for an illegal car meet when two men poured a large circle of petrol and ignited it for vehicles to drive around it.
This melted the tarmac and caused a large amount of damage to the car park.
Investigating officer Tyrone Powell, of the Joint Roads Policing Unit, said, “I am appealing for anyone who recognise the people in the photo to please come forward.
“We are also asking any witnesses or anyone with information or any images or footage of the assault to contact us via 101 or make a report on our website, quoting reference number 43240396844.
“You can also send footage to us, like dash-cam or mobile phone footage, directly via this dedicated online portal.
“Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via its website.”
Luton Town remain winless in the new Championship season after a 1-0 defeat to Preston North End.
A first half goal by Will Keane decided the contest for the home side, who picked up a first win of the season and victory in their game under the management of new boss Paul Heckingbottom.
Defeat means that the Hatters have picked up one point from their upcoming three games as they seek to go again following relegation from last season’s Premier League.
The Hatters arrived at Deepdale with a reshuffle, as defender Mark McGuinness made his debut following his midweek arrival from Cardiff while James Shea started in goal in place of the suspended Thomas Kaminski.
Luton had their chances in the first half, as Elijah Adebayo headed over from an early corner before Carlton Morris was denied by Freddie Woodman at another corner and Shandon Baptiste also missed the target with a first half effort.
But having failed to take one, Luton were punished when Preston took the lead in the final ten minutes of the first half. Kaine Kesler-Hayden released Emil Riis, who advanced down the home side’s left flank before cutting back for Keane to control the ball and then place a low shot past Shea.
Woodman made stops early in the second half to deny Adebayo and Jordan Clark, while Alfie Doughty later had one shot blocked and another off target.
But despite making a full roster of five changes, Luton struggled to find opportunities in the final stages to score an equaliser as they slipped to reverse in Lancashire.
The Hatters will seek a first win in an upcoming double-header with QPR, when they play the West London club in the EFL Cup on Tuesday and then the Championship on Friday.
Engineering works are set to affect the railway line between Milton Keynes and London over the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend.
Network Rail have confirmed that a reduced timetable will be in place between London Euston and Milton Keynes Central on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th August.
This is in order to allow for track renewals to take place at Primrose Hill in North London on the approach into Euston station.
Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway both intend to continue running trains over the weekend, but will be in operation with less frequency than usual weekend service patterns.
Passengers are advised to check with their operators before travelling.
Passengers heading northwards will also be affected by further engineering works in the area between Stoke-on-Trent and Manchester Piccadilly.
Services will be disrupted in the Stoke area from Saturday 24th August until Tuesday 27th August as a wide array of work is undertaken. This includes renewing switches and crossings.
As a result, there will be an amended train service. While Avanti West Coast will still run services from London via Milton Keynes to Manchester, they will not run via Stoke, with replacement bus services connecting both Stoke and Macclesfield stations with alternate stops between Stafford and Manchester.
