MK Dons continue pre-season prep with victory at Brackley Town

MK Dons continued their pre-season preparations with a 2-0 win over Brackley Town at St James Park.

Youngster Simon Troso saw an early shot deflected in by Will Collar, before substitute Aaron Collins grabbed a second for the visitors late on.

The match saw both sides gain minutes ahead of busy campaigns to come, with Brackley preparing to make their debut in the National League and MK Dons aiming to go again after a disappointing 2024/25 season.

The match represented the Dons’ third pre-season friendly, with Paul Warne’s side having previously lost 2-1 to Scottish side St Mirren in a training camp in Spain before winning 6-0 away at Hitchin Town at the weekend.

They took on a Brackley side who had previously held League One Northampton Town to a 0-0 draw in their first home pre-season friendly.

MK Dons took the lead with 7 minutes on the clock. Space opened up for Troso, whose ball into the box was deflected in. Credit was initially given as an own goal by a Brackley defender, but midfielder Collar later said in a post-game interview that he took the decisive touch to put the ball in the back of the net.

A busy half saw the Dons look likelier to get the game’s next goal without creating a substantial quantity of clear-cut chances, while Brackley were at least testing the visitor’s backline.

Home goalkeeper Cameron Gregory made good stops to thwart Aaron Nemane and Kane Thompson-Sommers, before a great chance came the visitors’ way just after the half hour when Jonathan Leko struck the post.

Less than a minute after Leko’s near-miss, Brackley came close themselves as Morgan Roberts’ long-range strike flew past Connal Trueman and struck the post.

Roberts would have a strike denied by Trueman just before half-time and the Dons keeper was in action again after the break when he thwarted Justin Donawa’s first-time strike.

The flow of the game would be disrupted when both sides opted to make mass changes on the hour mark, with the visitors making 11 changes and Brackley also making substantial alterations to their squad.

Danny Waldron saw Brackley’s best opportunity kept out by Craig MacGillivray, while at the other end, Luke Offord would see a strike blocked.

In the end, the Dons found a second goal in the 88th minute. Collins, who’d scored a hat-trick at Hitchin at the weekend, was able to place a strike into the bottom corner.

MK Dons continue their pre-season preparations on Saturday with simultaneous matches. One squad will travel to Dunstable to face last season’s League Two champions Doncaster Rovers, while the other squad will play Wealdstone FC.

As for Brackley, they continue their preparations for the new season with a trip to Chelmsford City on Saturday.