MK Dons ended their EFL Trophy campaign after a 4-0 defeat at home to Swindon Town.
Ollie Clarke’s early goal followed by an Aaron Drinan hat-trick did the job for a Swindon side who needed a win by two goals or more to reach the knockout round.
The Dons were already mathematically confirmed as being out of the competition, with the result confirming they would do so with three defeats out of three.
The final match of the EFL Trophy group stage for MK Dons saw them aiming for an improvement on defeats against West Ham’s junior team and Reading in their first two assignments in the competition.
Both sides opted to make heavy rotations for the game, with both Paul Warne making ten changes from the weekend and Swindon boss Ian Holloway making nine alterations.
For the Dons, goalkeeper Connal Trueman was the only one retained from the draw at Barnet in their last outing, with teenager Jack Burke handed a first full start in one of their switches.
While MK Dons were already mathematically eliminated, Swindon arrived in Milton Keynes needed a big win to take a place in the next round and they had an early opportunity as Princewill Ehibhatiomhan missed the target from close range.
Former Swindon man Nathan Thompson missed an early chance for the Dons, but it would be the visitors who grabbed an early goal.
Swindon skipper Clarke would strike it, as he received Billy Bodin’s cross and saw a strike land in the back of the net despite Dons keeper Trueman getting a hand to the ball.
Despite losing Tom Wilson-Brown to injury, the visitors continued to cause the Dons problems, with Trueman making saves to deny Bodin and Ehibhatiomhan.
Swindon then got a penalty and a chance to make it 2-0 as the referee interpreted a challenge by Callum Tripp on Finley Munroe in the box as a spot-kick. Up stepped Drinan, who beat Trueman to grab a second for the visitors with 32 minutes gone.
Very quickly after making it 2, Swindon would then make it 3. Ehibhatiomhan had a shot at a free-kick deflected wide off of Thompson, and from the corner, Drinan got a touch to divert the corner home for his second goal in three minutes.
The visitors could’ve rubbed further salt in the wounds as Ehibhatiomhan was in a prime position to score from Bodin’s cross, only for Trueman to make a fine stop.
Clarke had one shot denied by Trueman and another sail wide of the target after the break as the visitors continued to look for more.
MK Dons did have their best major chance after the break, as Chase Medwynter saw a strike from Kane Thompson-Sommers’ cross denied by Lewis Ward.
Swindon grabbed a fourth with just under 20 minutes to go, as Drinan completed the hat-trick by glancing in Bodin’s corner.
Trueman would make a late save to stop Bodin from adding a fifth for the visitors, while the Dons would come close as Simone Troso saw a low shot just go wide.
But there was no way back into the contest for the Dons, who’s attentions will duly turn back to League Two action, starting with a home match against fellow top 5 side Salford City on Saturday.
MK Dons: Trueman – Thompson (Domi 78), Burke, Maguire (Guzynski 62) – Tripp, Crowley (Silver 87), Troso, Thompson-Sommers, Tomlinson (Mellish 45) – Leko (Osborne 87), Medwynter
Subs not used: Finch, Singh-Hurditt
Booked: Medwynter
Swindon: Ward – Ball (Gonzalez-Birchall 62), Tafazoli (Mabete 45), Wilson-Brown (Delaney 19) – Knight-Lebel, Kilkenny (Oldaker 62 (Wright 89), Clarke, Munroe – Bodin, Drinan, Ehibhatiomhan
Subs not used: Ripley, Wright, Glatzel
Goal: Clarke (10), Drinan (pen 32, 35, 71)
Booked: Clarke, Bodin