It was the battle between first and second place as Notts County travelled to Stadium MK to face MK Dons, a place where Notts have never won. Looking to bring an end to this statistic, Notts earned a commendable draw in sweltering conditions, with captain Kyle Cameron’s strike cancelling out Daniel Harvie.
Notts came into the game with Aidan Stone in goal, Cameron, Brindley and Rawlinson as the three centre backs. Absence to Jodi Jones, who was on international duty meant that Chicksen took his place and Nemane remained as the two wingbacks. Bostock and Palmer were the two central midfielders and Crowley played in front with Sam Austin, who replaced another absentee David McGoldrick. These two played behind talisman Macaulay Langstaff, looking to add to his two goals at home to Accrington in the previous fixture.
It was an even start to the game, with both sides looking to gain control of the game. When Notts had the ball, they kept possession well against the MK Dons press but did not threaten too much. The Dons looked to penetrate the high line, seeing Leko fire his shot straight at Stone. Nemane looked as sharp as ever linking up down the right hand side with either Austin or Crowley, firing crosses with fast place. In the 29th minute, Austin saw his header loop over the crossbar, following a fantastic cross by Chicksen. After a drinks break, Luke Williams had switched Crowley and Austin around so that Crowley would be able to link up with Nemane on the right hand side.
MK Dons started to threaten towards the end of the half, launching counter attacks which tested the back line of the Magpies. They came close in the 40th minute as Max Dean’s strike looked as if it was going wide before a deflection forced Stone into an important save, forcing a corner to the home side. 2 minutes later, Notts came very close as the pace of Aaron Nemane saw him wriggle away from a couple of challenges before lashing a low cross across the face of the goal. It took a ricochet of Langstaff, however the ball went over the crossbar. This brought to a close an intense first half, with temperatures above 30 degrees celsius.
It was an important second half, in which Notts had to keep the ball as they did, whilst threatening the opposition’s goal. However, a missed pass led Daniel Harvie to pick up the ball on the half way line. It looked as if he had an open lane to goal as Notts allowed him a one on one with Stone, unleashing a powerful strike into the roof of the net. The Dons showed no sign of stopping as Stone was forced into another crucial save from Max Dean, who looked to give his side a two goal cushion. Following this chance, Luke Williams made two changed with Baldwin and Adebayo replacing Rawlinson and Chicksen.
Nemane immediately switched to playing as left wing back which was a massive influence in how Notts attacked the Dons. The magpies played with a much higher intensity, trying to break through the well organised MK back line. It looked as if the equaliser was going to come soon, with a succession of dangerous crosses failing to be turned home, in front of the travelling Notts fans. However in the 66th, another cross was deflected into the path of Kyle Cameron, who took a touch and fired his effort nestling into the bottom right corner, sending the away fans into delirium. After this, the game became a matter of Notts keeping the ball trying to break the line of the tiring home defence. Both teams were struggling to get that final chance to win the game before a pinpoint cross presented Macaulay Langstaff with a free header to win the game. He sent his header into the ground, but the effort lacked direction which resulted in the goalkeeper making an impressive save. However, MK Dons could have easily taken the three points after a cross found substitute Ellis Harrison who tapped his effort over the bar from six yards out. This brought to an end a well fought battle between two good teams, drawing 1-1.
Although both teams had chances to win the game, a draw was probably the fair result, with great performances all over the pitch. A slight negative from a Notts perspective was that Harvie should have never been allowed the time he had to run and score but other than that, Notts showed great resilience in leaving Milton Keynes with a point. The substitutions had a massive impact on the Magpies, with their attack focused on both flanks, delivering threatening crosses. The win could have gone either way at the end, so a draw is deserved from both perspectives.
Starting XI: 26 Stone - 5 Rawlinson (58’), 2 Brindley, 4 Cameron - 11 Nemane,16 Bostock,18 Palmer, 23 Chicksen (58’) - 8 Austin (79’), 7 Crowley - 9 Langstaff
Substitutions:15 Baldwin (58’), 21 Adebayo (58’), 6 O’Brien (79’),
Not Used: 1 Slocombe, 33 Tipton, 14 Randall, 27 Morias