MK Dons picked up a point as they drew 1-1 with fellow League Two promotion contenders Notts County at Stadium MK.

The visitors had taken the lead through Tom Iorpenda, whose goal had been the winner for Notts County at home to MK Dons earlier in December.

But an equaliser from Callum Paterson recovered a point for the home side, who extended an unbeaten run at home in the league stretching back to late September. Having lost just one of their last nine league games, the Dons sit 4th, though they are 3 points off automatic promotion.

After beating another promotion rival in Swindon Town on Boxing Day, the Dons’ last game of 2025 brought them into a second meeting in a month with the Magpies, who beat MK Dons 3-2 on that occasion. But after Notts County’s Boxing Day defeat by Chesterfield, MK Dons arrived ahead in the table and hoping to make it back-to-back wins.

As it was, a stop-start feeling to the game saw the best early opportunities end up with Notts County having blocked shots from outside the box while the Dons’ Boxing Day matchwinner Aaron Nemane saw a shot skew wide.

Former Dons striker Matt Dennis would fire straight at Craig MacGillivray from outside the box, before the best chance of the opening phase fell for the Dons. Jack Sanders’ original header from a corner was blocked, but the ball fell the way of Jon Mellish, who saw a strike hit the post.

Notts County would then up the tempo with a few opportunities. Alassana Jatta saw a strike from a tight angle denied by MacGillivray, before Dennis headed over at a corner.

Just when it seemed as though the game was set to drift to a scoreless half-time break, however, Notts County broke the deadlock. The visitors went on a counter forward and the ball was worked by Nick Tsaroulla to Iorpenda. The midfielder controlled then placed a neat strike from just outside the box into the bottom corner.

Unimpressed by his side’s first half work, Paul Warne made a trip substitution at half-time, but one of the players who stayed on would come close to an equaliser. Paterson won the ball off Oliver Norburn, broke forward and saw a strike ripple the outside of the netting on its way behind.

Notts County nearly responded by making it 2-0, as Jacob Bedeau’s volley from Tyrese Hall’s free-kick only cleared the top of the bar by inches.

Still struggling to create chances, Warne opted to bring in Dan Crowley, who had been the subject of boos from the away section nearly a year on from his move from Meadow Lane to Stadium MK.

But having struggled to create, things duly broke the Dons’ way. Dennis was dispossessed by Alex Gilbey, and the Dons captain duly lead a charge down their left flank. He teed up substitute Rushian Hepburn-Murphy, whose strike was denied by a good save from Kelle Roos, but Paterson followed up to drill it into the back of the net and make it 1-1.

Buoyed by that, the Dons had a brief flurry where they pushed to complete the comeback, with their two best chances falling for Hepburn-Murphy. He saw one strike go wide and another comfortably stopped by Roos.

After a few free-kicks, however, MK Dons’ attacking momentum fizzled out. The final stages would see Notts County win multiple free-kicks within range of the Dons’ box, but none of those came to anything and it would ultimately see the game end with the points being shared.

MK Dons: MacGillivray – Sanders, Ekpiteta, Offord – Nemane (Jones 45), Thompson-Sommers (Lemonheigh-Evans 45), Kelly (Crowley 67), Gilbey, Mellish – Collins (Hepburn-Murphy 45), Paterson

Subs not used: Trueman, Hogan, Leko

Goal: Paterson (70)

Booked: Thompson-Sommers, Gilbey

Notts County: Roos – Macari (Ness 90), Platt, Bedeau – Kouhyar (Gordon 60), Hall (Jones 90), Norburn, Iorpenda, Tsaroulla – Dennis (Grant 77), Jatta

Subs not used: Griffiths, Hinchy, Bennetts

Goal: Iorpenda (45)

Booked: Dennis, Hall