New boss Mike Williamson hailed the “desire and togetherness” of his MK Dons side after they made it back-to-back wins with a 3-2 League Two success at home to Swindon.
Williamson’s first game in charge ended in defeat at Accrington last weekend but consecutive home victories have followed under the former Gateshead manager.
Max Dean, Warren O’Hora and George McEachran’s own goal were to thank against the Robins, leaving Williamson pleased with how his squad are performing in the early days of his reign.
“I’m happy with the result, obviously,” he said.
“I feel a similar kind of feeling that it was the lads’ raw talent, desire and togetherness that I can see that’s got this win.
“There are a lot of things we can see we can improve and work on, but two wins on the bounce is fantastic.
“When we concede, it is difficult but there’s so much work we’ve got to get into on the training ground.
“There are so many elements of the game in and out of possession and we keep reflecting on the fact the talent, raw desire and determination to fight and win and pick up second balls has carried us through.
“Hopefully when we get a few more hours on the training field, we can start to see a little more structure and detail.”
Dean was denied twice by Murphy Mahoney early on as the hosts started strongly and the former Leeds striker scored on his third attempt when he received Conor Grant’s pass and placed the ball home.
Swindon levelled just before the hour as Jake Young received McEachran’s pass and lashed a strike past Craig MacGillivray from the edge of the box.
But Dons went back in front seven minutes later, as Jack Payne and O’Hora combined for the latter to curl a shot home.
Mahoney was beaten again when an Alex Gilbey cross went in off McEachran, meaning Frazer Blake-Tracy firing home an injury-time free-kick to reduce the arrears was merely a consolation.
Swindon boss Michael Flynn said: “I’m not going to dress it up, it was flat and I don’t want to see many more like that.
“I’ve tried to change it today to freshen it up and maybe I’ve got to look at myself as well. But it led into them giving too much respect to MK Dons, first half.
“When the game went on, we made an early sub to get more pace and put Youngy on and it worked. We looked better, but again, we’ve gone and shot ourselves in the foot by giving away two poor goals.
“It’s not going to get any easier at the minute. We’ve just got to buckle down and stay in touching distance by January and add some quality to improve the squad, not just in numbers but quality-wise.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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