MK Dons beat Gillingham 3-2 at Stadium MK as they managed to hold out despite a late comeback.

An early own goal by Sam Gale gave the hosts the advantage, before Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Callum Paterson scored goals to give the home side a 3-0 lead with 20 minutes or so to go.

Gillingham would come close to a comeback when Seb Palmer-Houden and Jonny Williams scored goals to reduce the deficit from three goals to one, but it wasn’t enough for the Gills to pull off what had looked like an unlikely draw.

MK Dons, by contrast, were able to take a first home win since mid-August, as they held on to win at Stadium MK for the first time since beating Cheltenham. It also saw the Dons make it back-to-back wins, having won at Shrewsbury in their previous assignment.

Having taken a victory in Shropshire in their last outing, MK Dons returned home to try and pick up victory at Stadium MK, having lost each of their previous 3 home matches in League Two. They welcomed Gillingham, who had lost for the first time in League Two this season in their previous game and who were missing boss Gareth Ainsworth, after the club confirmed he had to take a leave of absence for heart surgery.

MK Dons’ preparations weren’t helped by injuries, with Rushian Hepburn-Murphy out through a training injury before Scott Hogan was taken off injured during the warm-up.

This lead to a reshuffle by MK Dons, who introduced Laurence Maguire and shifted to a back 3. A by-product of Maguire’s inclusion saw the defender contribute to the Dons’ opener inside just six minutes.

A long throw had initially been cleared, but Paterson’s second cross could only be parried by Glenn Morris in the Gills goal. Maguire’s shot ended up striking Gale, before bobbling into the net for an own goal.

Will Collar would miskick when well placed as the hosts searched for a second, before Gillingham nearly equalised when Andy Smith headed wide from a ball into the box.

It was the Dons who looked likelier to grab the game’s second strike in the first half, with Paterson having a shot deflected wide before Maguire fired over at a corner. Morris would also make a stop to keep out Aaron Nemane’s effort from range.

Gillingham had tentatively offered more with some set-pieces before half-time, but started the second half in a more forward manner. Ethan Coleman had headed over from one set-piece before their best chance came when Robbie McKenzie was denied by Craig MacGillivray.

After starting the second half on the back foot, however, MK Dons would make it 2-0 just before the hour mark. Liam Kelly’s pass released Mendez-Laing, who was able to twist and turn away from two covering defenders before finding the bottom corner.

The hosts then spurned a chance to make it 3-0. Mendez-Laing flew down the right flank for the hosts before teeing up Kelly, who was in a prime position to score only to fire a strike into the side-netting.

With just over 20 minutes remaining, MK Dons would grab a third. In a similar move to the spurned Kelly chance, Will Collar was able to make a quick run down the right hand side for the hosts before teeing up Paterson, and the strike was able to poke the ball home on the stretch.

Gillingham would grab a goal back a few moments later. Aaron Rowe’s cross was batted away by MacGillivray but only as far as Gills sub Palmer-Houlden, who placed a first time strike into the roof of the net.

It initially looked as though Gillingham were set to run out of time for their comeback, but did find a second goal in the fourth minute of added time. Williams was able to outmuscle Nathan Thompson to reach Gale’s long ball and then poke the ball beyond MacGillivray.

But after one corner came and went without a chance created, MK Dons were able to see things through and take the points on a windy day in Milton Keynes.

MK Dons: MacGillivray – Offord, Ekpiteta, Maguire (Thompson 87) – Nemane, Collar (Thompson-Sommers 83), Kelly (Crowley 83), Gilbey, Mellish – Paterson, Mendez-Laing (Leko 87)

Subs not used: Trueman, Tripp

Goal: Gale (og 6), Mendez-Laing (57), Paterson (69)

Booked: Maguire

Gillingham: Morris – Hutton, Smith, Gayle, Ogie (Clark 77) – McKenzie – Rowe (Cirino 77), Coleman, Williams – Andrews (Vokes 65), Nevitt (Palmer-Houlden 65)

Subs not used: Turner, Akomeah, Khumbeni

Goal: Palmer-Houden (76), Williams (90+4)

Booked: Smith, Hutton, Andrews