Rushden & Diamonds 2 MK Dons 1
A late Aaron O'Connor goal gave Rushden & Diamonds a 2-1 victory in their friendly against MK Dons at Nene Park. That goal was O'Connor's second of the game, and his fifth for the club in the pre-season period.
After a forgettable first half, the Dons took the lead just before the hour mark, when Mark Carrington shot home after a corner was cleared to the edge of the Diamonds box. That seemed to energise the Diamonds, and they equalised after 74 minutes when a Reid free kick was headed back across the box for Aaron O'Connor to strike home. O'Connor then scored the winner in the 87th minute as he broke down the left and fired home from a narrow angle.
Manager Justin Edinburgh started with a smaller squad than in the previous friendlies, with Mark Byrne starting for the first time, and new loan signing Cliff Akurang on the bench.
MK Dons manager Paul Ince named a strong line up, and included triallist Ugo Ehiogu in his starting line-up. He watch the first half of the game from the North Stand, leaving other members of his management team to control the game from the bench.
The first half lacked a great deal of goalmouth action, with the Dons seeing Luke Chadwick hit the outside of the post after a Johnson cross was deflected on by Easter. The Diamonds did well to keep the Dons quiet, with McNamara and Byrne impressing in central midfield, and Simon Downer again impressing in defence.
James Reid split the Dons defence with a pass that Aaron O'Connor narrowly failed to bring under control before it reached Gueret in the MK Dons goal, and Craig Farrell had an overhead kick that was blocked before Curtis Osano forced Gueret into a smart save as he burst into the area.
The final action of the half saw the Dons threaten until Jamie Stuart dispossessed Jermaine Easter, leading to a Diamonds break which saw Craig Farrell run into the area and fall over under a challenge from David McCracken, but referee Henry waved away claims for a penalty.
Half-Time : Rushden & Diamonds 0 MK Dons 0
After their lacklustre performance in the first half, it was clear that Paul Ince had encouraged his team to improve in the second. He brought on Daren Powell to replace fellow triallist Ugo Ehiogu in central defence for the second half.
Sam Baldock started to get into the game for the Dons, and he linked up with Luke Chadwick to get the ball into the area, with the Diamonds defence doing well to scramble the ball out for a corner. Jemal Johnson's kick was headed out of the area by Nick McNamara, but it fell nicely for Mark Carrington on the edge of the box, and he fired it into the right hand corner of the net for the opening goal on 52 minutes.
That was the signal for a number of substitutions to be made, but it was the Diamonds who showed that their work on formation and team structure during pre-season has been playing dividends, as the replacement players slotted well into their replacement roles.
Jemal Johnson continued to threaten, and Michael Corcoran was forced into a foul challenge of the edge of box, and then Johnson's cross to Baldock forced an alert Dale Roberts into a smart save after the ball broke away from a Downer challenge.
Cliff Akurang had replaced Craig Farrell to make his Diamonds friendly debut, and he was fouled towards the left of the penalty box. James Reid took the kick, and Nick McNamara had found significant space just outside the far post, heading the ball back across the area, where Aaron O'Connor forced home.
Kurt Robinson had replaced Simon Downer, and was the victim of a challenge from Stephen Gleeson that caused some jostling between opposing players, with various non-playing staff helping to calm the situation, earning captain Jamie Stuart a "talking-to" along with Gleeson.
Akurang won another free-kick in a dangerous position - one that had seen Craig Farrell create problems in previous friendlies, but with him having been replaced, it was left to James Reid to hit a low kick that squeezed through the Dons wall, but with enough pace taken off the ball for it to deflect away off a covering player.
After the Dons made the final of their substitutions, having made eight to the Diamonds three, the home team clinched the game via a solo effort from Aaron O'Connor. Released down the left, the striker showed pace and skill to force his way into the area at a narrow angle, but just as people were looking for a dangerous cross, he took a shot, and the ball deflected off a defender's foot to end up in the far corner of the net.
There was little time for the Dons to reply although Neil Cousins showed the workrate that the whole team is showing, as he chased back to thwart a dangerous Dons attack in injury time.
Full-Time : Rushden & Diamonds 2 MK Dons 1
There is now just a day's break before the Diamonds travel to Corby on Monday evening. Michael Stone confirmed after the game that the focus for that game will be to give significant game time to those who have had less action during the pre-season period.
Diamonds: Dale Roberts, Curtis Osano, Michael Corcoran, Nicky McNamara, Jamie Stuart (Capt), Simon Downer, Mark Byrne, Matt Pattison, Aaron O'Connor, Craig Farrell, James Reid
Subs : Neil Cousins (for Pattison 60), Cliff Akurang (for Farrell 67), Kurt Robinson (for Downer 76) Not Used: Max Porter, Joe Day, Sam Smith
MK Dons : Will Gueret, Dean Lewington, David McCracken, Luke Howell, Stephen Gleeson, Jermaine Easter, Jemal Johnson, Sam Baldock, Mark Carrington, Luke Chadwick, Ugo Ehiogu
Subs : Daren Powell (for Ehiogu HT), Owona Dieudonne (for Easter 60), Ritchie Partridge (for Chadwick 60), Danny Woodards (for Carrington 63), Stuart Searle (for Gueret 71), Adam Chicksen(for Lewington 71), Martin Powell (for Johnson 76), David King (for Gleeson 85)
Goals : Carrington (52), O'Connor (74), O'Connor (87)
Referee : Carl Henry
Diamonds Man of The Match : Mark Byrne
