MK Dons’ winless September continued as they suffered a 2-1 home defeat by Accrington Stanley at Stadium MK.
Isaac Sinclair’s goal had given the visitors the lead, before a controversial Alex Gilbey equaliser brought Paul Warne’s hosts level.
But Accrington sub Charlie Caton was the matchwinner, handing Stanley a first ever win at Stadium MK.
There was further despair for the Dons, meanwhile, in a game that would see defender Luke Offord sent off in stoppage time as the hosts suffered a fourth defeat at home in a row in all competitions.
Having failed to win any of their last 3 league outings and suffered a heavy defeat to the West Ham U21 team in the EFL Trophy, Paul Warne was seeking a lift as MK Dons returned to league action.
They came up against an Accrington Stanley side who were chasing back-to-back wins, having won their first match of the season at home to Colchester last time out.
Warne had rested players in midweek and duly made 11 changes from that game, with the players chosen to start their previous league outing at Chesterfield returning to start.
The Dons had made some bright early running. Aaron Nemane saw a pass intercepted when in shooting range, before Callum Paterson saw an effort trundle wide from Gilbey’s pass.
A better chance fell the way of Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. The winger was picked out after making space down the left flank, and he was able to cut inside before firing in a strike well stopped by Accrington Stanley keeper Ollie Wright.
As the half wore on, however, MK Dons began to struggle for momentum, which opened the door for Accrington Stanley to begin asking questions of their own.
With 19 minutes on the clock, the visitors would duly open the scoring. Tyler Walton’s pass set up kindly for Sinclair, who charged forward and threaded a low strike into the back of the net. The strike was Sinclair’s second in as many games, having scored the only goal in their last outing.
Joe Buaress would see a long-range strike narrowly miss the target, but for much of the half, a second Accrington goal was looking likelier with the Dons seemingly getting lost when crossing halfway.
Accrington Stanley then missed two great chances in first half stoppage time. Josh Woods received Walton’s pass and saw a strike thwarted by Craig MacGillivray, then after MK Dons failed to clear the corner, Woods had another go that duly cannoned off the post.
Having got through that, MK Dons began the second half brighter, as Paterson saw a strike deflected wide.
It was from that corner that the Dons equalised, albeit in controversial fashion. After an initial cross was cleared, Marvin Ekpiteta’s prod forward seemed to be there for Wright to gather. However, he couldn’t gather the ball and it landed for Gilbey to score.
Replays suggested Paterson had shoved Walton into Wright, with Accrington adamant this was a foul, but the referee was content to allow the goal.
The Dons did not get going after equalising, however, with the visitors getting closer. Woods had a header saved by MacGillivray before ex-Dons man Charlie Brown had two strikes blocked in quick succession.
Accrington Stanley suffered a blow when Walton was stretchered off, but his replacement would end up making an impact.
Caton, who replaced Walton, was in the right place when Isaac Heath fired in a cross after a charging run, and the summer signing from Chester duly turned home his first goal for the club.
MK Dons nearly managed a quickfire equaliser as Rushian Hepburn-Murphy headed wide from Paterson’s cross.
But the Dons never really built up momentum as they sought an equaliser, with the closest they came coming when Scott Hogan had a deflected strike held by Wright.
Heath would have a strike kept out by MacGillivray in a rare moment where the visitors threatened to grab a third, before there was further misery for the Dons with a red.
Already missing several defenders through injury and suspension, the Dons saw Offord shown a second yellow for a foul on away sub Alex Henderson, and with it his dismissal in the final stages of stoppage time, with any hopes of a Dons equaliser duly being ended moments later with the final whistle.
MK Dons: MacGillivray – Lemonheigh-Evans (Hogan 80), Offord, Ekpiteta, Nemane – Crowley (Leko 87), Kelly (Collar 45), Gilbey – Mendez-Laing (Maguire 80), Paterson, Hepburn-Murphy (Thompson-Sommers 87)
Subs not used: Trueman, Medwynter
Goal: Gilbey (48)
Sent Off: Offord (90+5)
Booked: Kelly, Offord, Lemonheigh-Evans
Accrington Stanley: Wright – Smith, Matthews, Ward – Brown (Love 79), Conneely (Coyle 66), Bauress, Heath – Sinclair – Woods (Henderson 83), Walton (Caton 66)
Subs not used: Kelly, Grant, Martin
Goal: Sinclair (19)
Booked: Heath, Conneely
Luton Town were beaten 3-1 by Lincoln City after conceding two goals in the final stages of the contest.
The Hatters had got back on level terms when Jordan Clark had cancelled out Ben House’s first-half opener.
But Justin Obikwu put the hosts back in front with five minutes of the 90 to play, before House’s second in the final minute of regular time sealed the deal for the home side.
Defeat at the LNER Stadium made it back-to-back losses for Matt Bloomfield’s Hatters, who have also now lost 3 of their last 4 games. They sit 11th after 8 games, having played one game less than several of the teams around them, and are 4 points behind the play-offs in the developing third tier table.
Having lost at home to Plymouth last time out, Luton faced a tricky test on their visit to an in-form Lincoln who were unbeaten in their previous 6 outings.
Lincoln nearly found an early breakthrough courtesy of Adam Reach, who saw a sweeping free-kick rebound off the crossbar with Josh Keeley beaten.
But it would be the Imps that scored first. A precise pass by Freddie Draper sent House through, and the midfielder duly got the shot right to put Lincoln City in front.
Luton struggled to get going at first, but they were creating opportunities as the half wore on, with Nahki Wells volleying wide, Jordan Clark being denied by home keeper George Wickens and a goalmouth scramble at a corner not yielding a goal.
Lincoln responded with chances of their own after the half-time break. House would fire wide when well placed before Draper saw an effort repelled by Keeley.
Perhaps Lincoln’s best chance to make it 2-0 came with just over 15 minutes to go. Former Hatter Sonny Bradley was picked out in the six-yard box, but the defender got his shot all wrong and missed the target.
Two minutes after Bradley’s miss, Luton punished Lincoln by grabbing an equaliser. Millenic Alli received George Saville’s pass from a free-kick, and in turn, Alli fed Clark, who was able to guide a finish into the bottom corner and grab Luton an equaliser.
However, Lincoln would regain the lead 8 minutes later. Wickens’ free-kick was flicked on for Obikwu, who duly charged through to beat Keeley and score, putting the Imps back in front.
Lincoln would grab a game-clinching third late on, as Obikwu fed House to curl the ball past Keeley and had the hosts the two goal cushion.
There was no way back from that for Luton as they slid to defeat. The Hatters will seek to get back to winning ways next time out when they welcome Doncaster Rovers to Kenilworth Road next Saturday.
A serving police officer has been charged with rape and sexual assault in a Milton Keynes hotel.
The charges relate to the rape and sexual assault of a woman at the Premier Inn on Avebury Boulevard, Milton Keynes, on the evening of 17 December 2023. It was reported to Thames Valley Police on 11 July 2024.
It has since been confirmed that PC Thomas Irwin, aged 25, based at Reading police station in Berkshire, was arrested on 18 July and suspended.
On 22 August 2025, Irwin was charged with two counts of raping a woman aged 16 or over and one count of assaulting a female aged 13 and over by penetration.
Irwin was released on conditional bail and is due to appear at Luton and South Bedfordshire Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (18/9).
Paul Warne said he was annoyed with his MK Dons’ side for their first half performance in defeat to the West Ham U21s in the EFL Trophy.
The Dons fell 3-0 down to the junior team of the Premier League side at half-time, with West Ham later bagging 2 more in the second half to record a 5-1 win in each side’s first encounter of the EFL Trophy group stage.
Speaking after the game, Warne said he felt that the result was fair and that the first half was ultimately the part of the game that cost his side the most, with Warne labelling his side’s first half “embarrassing” and “horrific”.
He said, “A very fair defeat. I can’t say we were the better team – we definitely were not. Fair play to West Ham – they got among us really quick and every time they broke, it felt like it was going to go in. Every time bar 2, it felt like they did. They picked the right pass and were really clinical.
“I was embarrassed with our performance first half. I didn’t think we pressed with any intensity, didn’t think we tackled or made a foul, and that’s as far from a team I want to witness. Being honest, I just thought we were horrific first half. Second half, I really liked us, but it makes me even angrier because it makes me think they’ve just wasted 45 minutes of their careers.
“I appreciate we’ve got some young players in the team and it’s a good learning curve for them but I just didn’t think we played with any personality in the first half and that was what disappointed me.”
Speaking further about it, Warne felt that the first half was ultimately a display that hurt his team’s hopes of victory.
He said, “We were just disappointing first half. I just don’t think you can give any team at any level any start in any game and regrettably tonight, we did. That’s what disappoints me. I see what’s great in my players all the time and the young lads coming through and feel like collectively, we let ourselves down in the first half.
“At no time in the first half did I feel like we were in the game. We were on the pitch but not in the game. Scoreline aside, we’re always trying to increase performance levels but I didn’t feel like we were really in the game.”
On positives, Warne said he was happy that some players who have not been regular starters or struggled with injury got game time and that he was able to rest all 11 players who started the previous match at Chesterfield, but admitted there weren’t many more positives beyond that.
“The good thing was, which is a nice change, I think we got through the game without injuries. From a league basis, I’ve got players a little bit fitter. It’s nice to get Kane (Thompson-Sommers) back on the pitch – he hasn’t been in great nick.
“I didn’t risk any of the lads who started at the weekend so that was good, and obviously Collins, Aaron got some needed game time. So did Leko, so did Will (Collar). So in that respect, it’s good, but I manage this team, I want to see them win and perform at their best and tonight, for large periods of the first half, we just weren’t.”
Warne also reflected the nature of a team that featured 5 academy graduates, including 3 first-time starters, may have lead to a feeling of unfamiliar partnerships, but that he would not excuse a similarly slow start when the Dons welcome Accrington Stanley to Stadium MK on Saturday.
He said, “I thought we started well at the weekend. I don’t know if its because the team was hosh-kosh with lads that don’t train together and the whole relationship thing made it a little more difficult and maybe as the game went on, they became more comfortable with each other.
“So I don’t think it was an epidemic for us, just that maybe we collectively didn’t start as well. I’d be very disappointed if we started this way on Saturday and the players will be told that when we meet up again for training.”
Police are appealing for witnesses following a burglary at a jewellery store in the centre:mk in Central Milton Keynes.
The incident happened around 11.20pm on Saturday (13/9), when two men on a white Lexmoto FMX moped forced entry to the centre:mk shopping centre.
Once inside, they broke into The Watch & Clock Shop on Deer Walk and stole jewellery worth more than £78,000.
The offenders are described as wearing black clothing, black trainers, black helmets and dark coloured gloves. One of the offenders is believed to be white, while Thames Valley Police confirmed they don’t as of yet have a detailed description of the second man.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Emily Sivyer said, “I am appealing to anyone who witnessed this burglary, or saw two men matching the above description in the area at the time, to please get in touch.
“Anyone with information can call 101 or make an online report via our website, quoting reference number 43250470295.
“Alternatively, if you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via its website.”
