MK Dons' comeback attempt narrowly comes up short in defeat by Grimsby Town

MK Dons missed out on a point as they were beaten 3-2 at home by Grimsby Town in a game where a comeback attempt came up short.

The hosts had a miserable first half, as Kieran Green, Jaze Kabia and Charles Vernam gave the hosts a 3- lead and the Dons also saw Jon Mellish sent off.

However, a George McEachran own goal and a strike by substitute Conor Lemonheigh-Evans saw the Dons put in a valiant comeback attempt, albeit one that ultimately came up short as the Mariners held on to take the three points.

The result condemned the Dons to back-to-back home defeats, with Paul Warne’s side having lost at home to Walsall in their prior assignment.

Having lost their unbeaten start to the season with their reverse at home to Walsall last time out, the Dons had another big test as they welcomed a Grimsby side still on a high from their recent Carabao Cup victory against Manchester United.

Paul Warne opted to tweak his formation from the game, changing from his 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 hybrid to a 4-4-2, with Scott Hogan getting a first start of the campaign up front. There was also a start for Kane Wilson, who had joined the Dons from Derby the day after the Walsall defeat.

Grimsby had the first chance of note, with Evan Khouri firing wide after being played in by ex-Dons man Darragh Burns, before MK Dons had their first chance of note when Hogan’s header from a Wilson cross was deflected behind.

With nine minutes on the clock, it was Grimsby who scored first. Vernam was given space to charge down the away side’s left flank before his cross found Green, who ghosted in ahead of Jack Sanders to score.

Although MK Dons had a few half-chances in response, the best opportunities for a second came Grimsby’s way.

Home goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray denied an angled strike by Vernam before making a big stop to keep out Kabia when the striker was one-on-one with him after being played in by Burns.

But having been knocking on the door, Grimsby would duly force in a second goal. Vernam was causing trouble for the Dons all afternoon and his shot was spilled by MacGillivray. The ball fell for Kabia, who just got in ahead of teammate Jaydem Sweemey to tape the ball home.

The Dons’ day then got even more painful when they fell 3-0 down 5 minutes later. Vernam picked up the ball again down the left, and this time charged forward before cutting inside when reaching the penalty area and placing a fine strike into the top corner.

Warne duly reshuffled his side, withdrawing the already booked Luke Offord and attempting to reshuffle his side.

But before the changes could take effect, the home side’s mission got even harder when Mellish was deemed to have used a high foot in a dangerous place when making contact with Kabia, earning a straight red card.

A painful first half for home fans nearly got worse, with MacGillivray denying Green, Liam Kelly’s intervention putting off Kabia when well placed and MacGillivray making another stop to deny McEachran.

Another reshuffle was tried with the Dons, with Lemonheigh-Evans introduced to shore up the midfield and strike partner Callum Paterson asked to drop into defence as part of a back 5.

But less than 3 minutes after the break, the hosts did get on the scoreboard. After Grimsby half-cleared a corner, the hosts worked the ball out wide to Marvin Ekpiteta, whose cross struck McEachran and ricocheted in. It made it the second time in 3 seasons that McEachran had scored an own goal at Stadium MK, with the brother of ex-Don Josh having done so while playing for Swindon in 2023.

Despite being a player down, the Dons were causing Grimsby some trouble and the shape was limiting Grimsby’s ability to create more opportunities, with the visitors’ best opportunities for a fourth coming in the form of primarily blocked shots.

As the game wore on, it was seemingly set to peter out, with the Dons unable to create many opportunities for a second and Grimsby opting to take off danger man Vernam.

In the late stages, the Dons’ players felt adamant that Cameron McJannett had handled the ball from a long throw into the box, which was echoed by fans and coaching staff, but the appeals would not be endorsed by the officials.

As it was, however, MK Dons did reduce the deficit in the first minute of stoppage time. A long throw by Paterson ended up with Lemonheigh-Evans, with the substitute duly rifling home.

Time wasn’t on the Dons’ side to mount a comeback, but they nearly stole a point in style when Sanders’ overhead kick narrowly flew over with the final kick of the ball.

But there was no time left for MK Dons to steal a point, with the side entering a big match next week away at Chesterfield on the back of back-to-back defeats.

MK Dons: MacGillivray – Offord (Nemane 35), Ekpiteta, Sanders, Mellish – Wilson (Collar 72), Kelly (Crowley 80), Gilbey, Hepburn-Murphy (Leko 80) – Paterson, Hogan (Lemonheigh-Evans 45)

Subs not used: Trueman, Medwynter

Goal: McEachran (og 47), Lemonheigh-Evans (90+1)

Sent Off: Mellish (36)

Booked: Offord, Kelly

Grimsby: Pym – Rodgers, Warren, McJanett, Sweeney – McEachran – Burns (Eccleston 89), Green, Khouri, Vernam (Soonsup-Bell 72) – Kabia (Rose 84)

Subs not used: Auton, Amaluzor, Brown, Oduor

Goal: Green (9), Kabia (23), Vernam (28)

Booked: McEachran