MK Dons were comprehensive victors as they beat Cheltenham Town 5-0 at Stadium MK.

Goals by Jack Sanders, Alex Gilbey and Callum Paterson put the hosts 3-0 in front inside the opening 25 minutes, with second half goals by Rushian Hepburn-Murphy and Aaron Nemane wrapping up the rout for the home side.

Victory means the Dons remain unbeaten in League Two after the first three games of the new season, with Paul Warne’s outfit having picked up 7 points in their first 3 games of the new campaign.

Having suffered a first competitive defeat after losing to Championship Bristol City in the Carabao Cup in midweek, Warne’s attention returned to the league duties and hopes of a first home win after picking up 0-0 draws in each of his first 3 games at Stadium MK since taking over at MK Dons in April.

Visiting Milton Keynes were a Cheltenham team who’d made an opposite start to the Dons, with the Robins having won in the Carabao Cup in midweek but without a point or even a goal in their first two league games.

Having rested players for the game in Bristol in midweek, Warne reverted to a first-choice MK Dons side and they began on the front foot, with Paterson having a shot go wide via a nick off the post and Sanders heading wide from a free-kick.

The hosts then came very close when Paterson’s pass released Hepburn-Murphy, who had a shot denied by Cheltenham keeper Joe Day.

From the resulting corner, however, MK Dons scored for a ninth minute lead. Joe Tomlinson’s delivery picked out Luke Offord, who headed the ball back across goal for Sanders to glance the ball home via a post.

That was the Dons’ first home goal under Warne, and it would quickly be followed by the second. Six minutes later, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing exchanged passes with Paterson before laying it off to Gilbey. The Dons captain received the ball a few yards outside the box and placed a pristine strike beyond Day’s reach and into the top corner.

With the exception of a wayward Ethon Archer strike, Cheltenham struggled to create much going forward. MK Dons still had chances for more, with Will Collar narrowly flicking a shot wide.

The hosts then managed to score their third goal. A Liam Kelly free-kick wasn’t cleanly gathered by Day and the ball bobbled into the path of Paterson, who lashed a strike into the back of the net to put the Dons further ahead.

MK Dons continued to press for more with Offord heading wide at a corner before Paterson narrowly failed to meet a cross. In-between these two chances, Cheltenham had a half-chance as George Miller had a half-chance with a deflected shot saved by Craig MacGillivray.

After half-time, Cheltenham did have a few moments going forward, with Archer rushing a strike wide after Sanders had failed to clear, while substitute Liam Kinsella also finding the stands with a strike.

The single best chance for Cheltenham came when substitute Josh Martin, who once played as a loanee for MK Dons, saw a free-kick well stopped by MacGillivray. A rebound by Arkell Jude-Boyd was also blocked in the same move.

But not long after that, the Dons shut the door on any Cheltenham comeback aspirations with their fourth. A swift break saw Paterson play through Hepburn-Murphy, who was able to fly forward to the box before playing a crisp strike into the goal via the post, in the process scoring his first MK Dons goal.

Warne duly opted to rotate his Dons side, making changes and two of the subs would combine to make it 5-0 with ten minutes of the 90 to go. Jonathan Leko’s blocked cross fell kindly for Nemane, who in turn placed a firm strike into the bottom corner, with the goal being Nemane’s first since joining MK Dons from Notts County a year ago.

Cheltenham would see Archer booked for diving, while Sanders volleyed a late effort wide for the Dons to grab a sixth.

But 5-0 still represented a fine afternoon for the hosts, who picked up their biggest home win since a 5-0 win over Walsall at Easter 2024. MK Dons will seek to continue their unbeaten start on Tuesday, when they take on Warne’s predecessor Scott Lindsey and his Crawley Town side in Sussex on Tuesday.

MK Dons: MacGillivray – Jones (Ekpiteta 75), Sanders, Offord, Tomlinson – Kelly, Collar (Lemonheigh-Evans 75) – Mendez-Laing (Nemane 68), Gilbey, Hepburn-Murphy (Leko 68) – Paterson (Hogan 68)

Subs not used: Trueman, Thompson

Goal: Sanders (9), Gilbey (15), Paterson (25), Hepburn-Murphy (60), Nemane (80)

Booked: Collar

Cheltenham: Day – Wilson, Bennett, Mazionis (Kinsella 36) – Power, Broom (Tustin 89), Young (Martin 55), Jude-Boyd (Harmon 89) – Archer – Miller (Bickerstaff 55), Thomas

Subs not used: Diallo, Harmon, Wilcox, Tustin

Booked: Mazionis, Jude-Boyd, Bickerstaff, Archer