Tisdale proud of MK Dons players after they snatch late win at Newport

Posted Wednesday, February 13, 2019 by PA

MK Dons manager Paul Tisdale praised Chuks Aneke whose goal put MK Dons back in the playoff picture in League Two after a 1-0 win at Newport.

Substitute Aneke hammered home an 88th-minute winner against the FA Cup giant-killers to ruin their dress-rehearsal for Saturday’s fifth-round clash with Manchester City.

The win was enough to send MK Dons up four places in the table into fourth place and left manager Tisdale full of pride.

Tisdale said: “Well done to Chuks for scoring the goal, well done for the clean sheet and I am just delighted. I am very proud of the side and thankful for the result because Newport gave us a real going over.

“We had to defend, but we kept going. We made some positive changes on the hour mark to win it, and I’m glad I did that.

“We discussed for five minutes about whether or not we should put on another attacker or defender. I’m glad I made the decision to take a defender off and put on another attacker.

“Sometimes the best form of defence is attack and we got that just right tonight. This is a really important win for us.

“Over the course of a season, you will get some days with a bit of luck and other days without it. Every time they had a shot at goal we had pressure on their player, although how they finished without scoring a goal I don’t know because they had a real intent about them and looked a very good side here.

“Call it ugly, professional, or whatever you want, sometimes it is just the majesty of a 1-0 win. I’m taking that and, as a manager, that’s all you need.”

For opposite number Michael Flynn it was a frustrating night as his side hit the woodwork four times. They pumped 27 crosses into the box in the first half alone, yet could not convert.

“We created enough chances to win five games, but we didn’t win one. That’s why we are a mid-table team,” admitted Flynn.

“The effort was fantastic and there were some outstanding bits of play, but it would have been nice to finish them off.

“When you have that many chances, gilt-edged as well, you can see why we don’t kill teams off. There have been a number of times this season when I’ve said we haven’t been ruthless enough in both boxes.

“That was it again tonight, even though we were by far the better team. That’s why our goal difference is minus.

“We put in 27 crosses into the box in the first half. On the law of averages, you are going to score off one or two of them. It was a frustrating night.

“It is something to look forward to on Saturday, but it is a disappointing way to go into it because we were the better team. We don’t get too carried away when we win or too despondent when we lose. It would have been much better going into the game on Saturday with three points behind us.

“Sometimes it just isn’t your night and it definitely wasn’t tonight. That said, we need to be more ruthless. If we had taken a quarter of our chances we would have been out of sight.”