Page 24 - Phonebox Magazine February 2014

MK Dons vs Wigan Athletic – Tuesday 14th January Premier League Powell Buries Dons Cup Dreams
After the well deserved 3-3 draw at the DW Stadium, MK Dons couldn’t manage to accomplish an upset when Wigan travelled to Stadium MK, in the FA Cup
3rd Round Replay between the two sides, as they were defeated 3-1 after extra time. It was Manchester United loan man Nick Powell who proved to be the difference between the teams when he came on mid- way into the second half and struck the net twice either side of normal and extra time, to cancel out Chadwick’s early goal and secure the FA Cup Champions’ place in Round 4. It was the League One side that made the more positive start, immediately taking the game to Wigan with their passing play and movement. The probing and speed of MK proved too much for Wigan, as Dons drew first blood in the tie on nine minutes. Steven Gleeson sent a ball down the Line for Hodgson to chase, the full-back did brilliantly to keep it in before crossing to the pursuing Luke Chadwick to calmly finish into the bottom corner, it was a dream start for the home side. The early goal seemed to wake Uwe Rösler’s side up, and Wigan proceeded to get into their Championship quality football that was aesthetically pleasing on the eye, which led to an opening for Espinoza to shoot on goal, but he fired just over, skimming the
crossbar. Despite this, it was a promising sign for the away fans that their team hadn’t given up in the slightest.
Wigan came out onto the pitch in the second half, looking like the Championship side that they were. They completely dominated the first 10 minutes of the second half, but the MK Dons back line stood firm, dealing with anything that was thrown at them. However, 59 minutes into the match, a game changing decision was made from the Wigan bench. Off went Fraser Fryvie and on came Nick Powell. There was a chance for Wigan to equalise as a free kick in the Dons half was given straight back to Wigan, James Mclean found himself with space in the box when he was found by a cross but he couldn’t get a shot away when it was only David Martin that stood in his way.
The 8,316 inside Stadium MK thought the home team had finished the tie off, when Shaun Williams spun on the spot inside the box and got a shot away. But time stood still as the slow travelling ball trickled agonisingly onto the post and then was cleared by Wigan. Although Karl Robinson’s men had barricaded Wigan out for 79 minutes, their defences were finally breached. After some very impressive passing play by Wigan, a space opened up on the left hand side for Chris McCann to float the ball across into the MK Dons penalty area. Nick Powell reached
the ball before goalkeeper David Martin, and poked home the equaliser to establish himself into this match.
With the last kick of normal time, Shaun Williams had the chance to become an MK Dons hero, with a free kick on the edge of the area after Ben Watson knew what he was doing by blocking off Daniel Powell when he was penetrating the centre of the defence. The fans’ optimism was misplaced, however, as the centre back could not convert the set piece and the two sides had to face off in extra time.
Just one minute into the added period, Nick Powell timed his run to perfection to latch onto a through ball and with all the time in the world, he chipped the ball over the sprawling David Martin to turn the score line on its head and make it a very hard task for the MK Dons to make it through to the 4th round. In addition, on the stroke of extra time, half time, just to rub salt in the wounds, Marc-Antoine Fourtune cut in from the left hand side and struck low into the bottom corner to finish Dons once and for all.
Shaun Williams’ penalty miss at the DW Stadium the, first time these teams met, has come back to haunt him, but with the departure of top scorer Patrick Bamford, this match has proved that other squad members cannot step up and take the goal scoring chances that are presented to them.
Matt Delaney
24 Phonebox Magazine