MK Dons miss out on victory as ex-Don Grigg strikes late Chesterfield equaliser

MK Dons missed out on 3 points after former Don Will Grigg scored an injury time equaliser for Chesterfield in a 2-2 draw.

The Dons had taken a 2-0 lead in the contest through first half goals by Callum Paterson and Rushian Hepburn-Murphy.

But Sam Curtis scored on his Chesterfield debut to reduce the lead to 2-1, before a 94th minute equaliser by Grigg saw the Spireites steal a point at the end of the contest.

On a day where 10 of League 2’s planned 12 games were postponed during a brutal cold snap, the Dons had been seconds away from rising to third in the table. But instead, they will now sit 5th, with many of the teams around them in a congested League 2 table having a game in hand.

Having conceded an injury time goal at Colchester in midweek, the Dons’ fourth game of the congested Christmas period brough them against a fellow promotion chaser in the form of Chesterfield, who like MK Dons had won on Boxing Day but not one either of the two following outings.

MK Dons were forced into a reshuffle after losing Marvin Ekpiteta to an injury sustained in Essex, as they welcomed a Chesterfield team that announced 3 new signings on the morning of the game and threw all of them into their starting line-up.

On a bright but very cold day in Milton Keynes, a decent early chance came the way of the visitors, only for Liam Mandeville to miss the target when well placed.

The opening half hour or so was a contest where neither side was at their fluent best in creating a chance, with perhaps the best missed opportunity seeing a cross by the Dons’ Hepburn-Murphy drift a few inches too far in front of Paterson in the middle.

MK Dons would begin to create more, and they took the lead in the 29th minute. Hepburn-Murphy played the ball out wide to Aaron Nemane, whose low cross picked out Paterson to convert with a fine finish.

Chesterfield missed a decent chance to equalise when James Berry lead a counter, only to fire a strike into the stands when well placed.

As the first half ended, MK Dons made it 2-0. Hepburn-Murphy picked up a throw-in, advanced and duly hit a long-range strike that crashed into the back of the net, handing the home side a larger lead for the half-time break.

In the second half, Chesterfield were doing enough to keep MK Dons from extending the advantage, and with an hour gone, they came close with their best chance of the game as Ronan Darcy saw a low drive denied by Craig MacGillivray.

A few moments after that, the visitors reduced the deficit from two goals to one. Mandeville’s free-kick picked out Curtis, who got a header into the back of the net.

The best chances for a fourth goal in the game would fall for the Dons. Jon Mellish would see a strike well saved by Chesterfield keeper Zach Hemming, before Paterson, substitute Aaron Collins and Conor Lemonheigh-Evans all missed the target with various efforts.

It looked as though the Dons had done the job as the game ticked over into the final one of the four added minutes. But there was still late drama to come.

MK Dons had already had to poke the ball out of play when the visitors won a free-kick, but from the resulting corner, Mandeville picked out former Don Grigg, who headed home via the crossbar.

It added up to yet more late frustration for the Dons, who had conceded an injury time goal to lose at Colchester on New Year’s Day and were left to rue injury time troubles once again.

MK Dons: MacGillivray – Jones, Offord, Sanders – Nemane, Lemonheigh-Evans, Kelly, Crowley (Thompson-Sommers 71), Mellish (Collins 76) – Paterson, Hepburn-Murphy (Hogan 71)

Subs not used: Trueman, Leko, Tripp, Burke

Goal: Paterson (29), Hepburn-Murphy (45)

Booked: Nemane, Sanders, Mellish, Kelly

Chesterfield: Hemming – Curtis (Daley-Campbell 71), Donacien (Naylor 31), Swinkels, Lewis (Duffy 45) – Stirk, Braybrooke – Mandeville, Darcy (Ladapo 66), Barry – Bonis (Grigg 66)

Subs not used: Boot, Fleck

Goal: Curtis (67), Grigg (90+4)

Booked: Lewis, Grigg