MK Dons head coach Mike Williamson believes his team have enough spirit to bounce back from a 3-0 first-leg defeat against Crawley Town in the League Two play-offs.
The Dons were made to wait for their play-off semi-final first leg at the Broadfield Stadium. Following heavy rain on Monday, the initial fixture was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch and re-scheduled for Tuesday evening.
It took MK Dons just five minutes to concede in the first-leg defeat as Liam Kelly struck early for the hosts. Williamson’s side conceded again before half time and shipped a third in the second period.
Despite the defeat, there were encouraging signs for the Buckinghamshire side ahead of the return leg at the Stadium MK on Saturday. Williamson’s outfit attempted 13 shots to Crawley’s 12 and had five on target, as recorded by Whoscored.
In addition, the Dons have won eight of their last 11 home matches in League Two and scored three or more goals in five of their last six at Stadium MK. Only Wrexham and Stockport County – both promoted via top-three finishes – ended the League Two season with better home records than MK Dons, as per Whoscored.
When addressing the play-off situation following the 3-0 defeat at Crawley, Williamson told the Milton Keynes Citizen that he is fully aware of the uphill battle awaiting his side in the second leg. However, the former Gateshead manager backed his side to give all they’ve got to hit back at Stadium MK.
“We know we’ve got a mountain to climb, but we’ve got a bunch of lads who are capable of doing that. We have to dust ourselves down and choose to react in a way, of keeping our heads, and we’ve got to believe that we have more than enough to overturn this.
“We don’t need any more motivation, we know what we’ve got, which personalities we’ve got.
“We’ll turn up on Saturday, empty the tank and give everything. If we do go down, we’ll do it looking like us, feeling like us and exhausting every avenue. We’re looking forward to Saturday now. One thing I saw was a drive and desire to drive each other on out there.
“The fight and endeavour was there, the quality might vary but the spirit didn’t.”
Writer’s View
MK Dons must utilise their home advantage to claw back into this play-off tie against Crawley and Williamson’s only option is to motivate his side to attack. Ultimately, the only way to spark a comeback is by leaning on the goal threat that produced 19 goals at Stadium MK in the final six home fixtures of the season.
However, Williamson and MK Dons could be in for another tough afternoon on Saturday, if their defensive issues continue. In their last three matches of the League Two season, MK Dons let in a league-high 11 goals, reported by Whoscored, and a further three conceded at Crawley outlined where the Dons need to improve to stay in this clash.
