MK Dons concede late equaliser in draw at Chesterfield

MK Dons conceded a late equaliser as they drew 1-1 with Chesterfield.

Rushian Hepburn-Murphy’s goal had given the visitors a first half lead, but an 86th minute equaliser by Tom Naylor saw Chesterfield deny MK Dons three points on the road.

A draw in Derbyshire means the Dons have won just one of their last 5 outings, although in the early League Two table, they sit just one point outside the play-off positions.

Paul Warne was forced into multiple reshuffles for the match, with Kane Wilson, Jack Sanders and Scott Hogan all out with injuries and Jon Mellish suspended, although Aaron Collins was able to return to a Dons squad for the first time since the opening match of the season.

MK Dons had the game’s first major opportunity, as Callum Paterson reached Dan Crowley’s cross only for his header to drift off target.

Lewis Gordon had Chesterfield’s first major opportunity, only for the home side’s man to be denied by Craig MacGillivray.

It would be the visitors who duly broke the deadlock. Hepburn-Murphy won the ball out wide, played a one-two with Paterson, burst into the box and fired the strike home to put the Dons in front.

Chesterfield began the second half in a busy manner seeking an equaliser, with Armando Dobra firing over and former Don Kyle McFadzean missing the target.

MK Dons sub Collins fired a chance over as the Dons sought a second that would’ve quelled their anxieties.

But Chesterfield kept plugging away and the Spireites equalised in the final stages of the contest. Liam Mandeville’s corner picked out Naylor, who rose highest to head home.

Things nearly got worse for the Dons, with Will Dickson’s strike denied by MacGillivray a few moments later.

MK Dons will next be in action on Tuesday, when they host the West Ham U21s in the EFL Trophy, before they return to league action by hosting Accrington Stanley next weekend.