MK Dons hold off Cheltenham fightback to take victory in Gloucestershire

MK Dons resisted a fightback by Cheltenham Town to take a 3-2 win at the EV Charger Points Stadium.

Goals by Curtis Nelson and Callum Paterson had seen the Dons take a 2-0 lead in the first half. Jake Bickerstaff’s goal back had brought Cheltenham back into things, but a second half goal by Marvin Ekpiteta saw the Dons re-establish a two goal lead.

Cheltenham would score again late on through Isaac Hutchinson, but the Dons prevented the hosts from equalising in order to take the three points.

Victory sees the Dons now sit 4th in the congested League 2 automatic promotion race. With 16 games remaining, they are one point behind Swindon in 3rd, in a situation where just five points split Notts County in 2nd from 6th place Salford.

After dropping points in a draw at Grimsby last week, MK Dons were looking to go again in the race to try and get promoted to League One.

The Dons made a busy start, with Cheltenham keeper Joe Day denying Ben Wiles and Aaron Nemane firing an effort over the top.

The opening goal came after 32 minutes. Cheltenham failed to fully clear a corner, and from Liam Kelly’s second ball into the box, Nelson got highest to glance it home. The goal was the defender’s first for the Dons after joining from Derby in January.

Five minutes later, MK Dons would make it 2-0 thanks to a gift. Cheltenham wing-back Jonathan Tomkinson’s backpass was underhit and fell kindly for Paterson, who rounded Day and scored for his sixth goal in four matches.

MK Dons could’ve made it three straight away, with Day forced into a save to keep out Nelson from another corner.

Cheltenham would get on the scoreboard in first half stoppage time, however, as Bickerstaff picked up the ball on the edge of the box and placed a perfectly placed drive into the back of the net.

But rather than panic, the Dons were able to go again and they made it 3-1 just after the hour mark. Cheltenham couldn’t deal with an MK Dons corner and the ball eventually fell for Ekpiteta, who drilled the ball home from a tight angle.

Just as it seemed like the game was petering out, Cheltenham would claw their way back to 3-2, as Hutchinson was able to place a strike past Craig MacGillivray.

But MK Dons resisted attempts by Cheltenham to equalise, grabbing a big win and maintaining their push for promotion. The Dons now have back-to-back home outings, as they play struggling Newport and Crawley in their next two games.