MK Dons move into automatic promotion places after win at Walsall

MK Dons moved into the automatic promotion places in League 2 after a 2-0 away win at Walsall.

Goals by Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Jon Mellish won the match for the Dons in the West Midlands, in a result that saw the Dons extend their unbeaten run to 8 League Two games.

In a tight promotion chase in League Two, the Dons are now up to 3rd in the table, albeit ahead of Notts County and Swindon on goal difference with just four points separating the division’s top five.

Against a Walsall side who have been in troubled form since Christmas, the opening half hour would be a tight affair with few opportunities created by the two sides.

MK Dons would then take the lead with their first major chance in the 29th minute. A pass out from the back by Priestley Farquharson was intercepted before it could reach Courtney Clarke and the ball would be cycled along by Alex Gilbey to Hepburn-Murphy, who threaded a strike into the back of the net.

After a delay due to an injury to the referee, MK Dons would come close again in first half stoppage time when Hepburn-Murphy had a strike blocked in the box.

Walsall failed to create a shot in the first half, but they did begin to cause the Dons more bother after the break, with Aaron Pressley lashing a strike over before Craig MacGillivray made a fine stop to keep out Daniel Kanu.

Further chances fell the way of the Saddlers later in the contest, with Clarke seeing a strike just fly over the top before Kanu was again denied by MacGillivray.

As the game entered the final ten minutes, however, MK Dons would move 2-0 ahead. Walsall scrambled a corner behind for another corner, but from the second delivery, Marvin Ekpiteta teed the ball up for Mellish to thump the ball into the roof of the net in order to grab the Dons’ second.

That duly sealed the points for Paul Warne’s side as they took three more points in their push for promotion to the third tier.

MK Dons face another big contest on Saturday, when they make the trip to place a Cambridge side currently sat second in the League Two table.