Laurence Maguire was the matchwinner as MK Dons came from 2-0 down to beat Cheltenham 3-2 and win a fifth straight league game.

Cheltenham stunned the Dons when they moved 2-0 ahead inside 13 minutes through goals by Jake Young and George Miller.

MK Dons got a goal back when Alex Gilbey scored, but it took the Dons a while to get going until Ellis Harrison’s equaliser with 15 minutes to play and then Maguire’s winner with four minutes to go.

Victory means MK Dons have won five consecutive League Two games, lifting up to 5th place and one point off an automatic promotion position. The sequence is the Dons’ longest run of consecutive league wins since February and March 2022.

After the disappointment of midweek elimination from the EFL Trophy, MK Dons returned to league action chasing a fifth straight win in League Two. They were confronted with a tricky test as an in-form Cheltenham arrived, with the Gloucestershire side having been unbeaten in their previous four league games as well as beating League One Rotherham in the FA Cup.

One consequence of the midweek EFL Trophy game would be the absence of Dons boss Scott Lindsey from the touchline, with Lindsey banned from the touchline after picking up his third yellow of the season.

MK Dons had the first initial chance of the day, as Aaron Nemane was able to play a one-two, reach the edge of the box and have a strike that was straight at Joe Day in the Cheltenham goal.

Cheltenham would respond, however, by scoring a sixth minute opening goal. A foul by Maguire by the corner flag gave the visitors a free-kick, and from Joel Colwill’s delivery, Young’s shot from outside the box took a deflection off an MK Dons player and went in despite Tom McGill’s attempt to save it.

Scott Hogan briefly thought he’d grabbed MK Dons an instant equaliser when he received Gilbey’s through-pass and finished, but an offside flag raised before he shot meant no goal.

Things then got worse for MK Dons. A foul gave Cheltenham another free-kick, which was lifted into the box by Young. Tom Bradbury’s header across the face of goal cued up Miller, who was left unmarked and duly beat McGill in the one-on-one to give Cheltenham a 2-0 lead with less than 15 minutes played.

MK Dons initially struggled to get going, but would find themselves a way back less than ten minutes after falling 2-0 down. Hogan was able to outmuscle Jordan Thomas before getting to the edge of the box and playing in a low cross for Gilbey to thump in a first-time strike and make it 2-1.

But while MK Dons had a foothold, Cheltenham were looking the more dangerous. Thomas would see a shot just bounce past the post before a Young free-kick similarly missed the target by a matter of inches.

MK Dons struggled for momentum in the first half and they weren’t helped when MJ Williams had to be taken off after pulling up during first half stoppage time.

Williams was duly taken off, while the Dons had a few half-chances in first half stoppage time as Gilbey had a strike blocked and Joe Tomlinson fired over from a corner.

Lindsey duly decided upon a further reshuffle, making a double change at half-time to introduce Liam Kelly and Callum Hendry alongside the forced arrival of Dean Lewington.

A half-chance came MK Dons’ way just after the break as Gilbey saw a deflected strike held by Day, but a better chance fell Cheltenham’s way. The visitors worked the ball for Colwill, who saw a strike charged down at source by Lewington.

Having been caught out by Young being given space for the opening goal, MK Dons were nearly caught out again, as Young received the ball from a half-cleared corner and saw a strike on target just tipped over by McGill.

Ethon Archer would also see a strike narrowly clear the bar as the visitors spent a lot of the second half looking likelier to do something.

But instead, with just over a quarter of an hour to play, MK Dons were able to find a way through to equalise. Substitute Harrison flicked a ball onwards to Hogan, who duly charged clear of a covering defender before reaching the box and drawing out Day. Hogan duly squared for Harrison to convert and make it 2-2.

The home side were now able to get momentum, and felt they should’ve had a penalty when Lewis Shipley interrupted Nemane’s run into the box. Nemane however did win a corner with a shot that Day tipped wide, and from that corner, Maguire was able to prod home after a scramble with multiple Cheltenham defenders.

Maguire’s first goal for MK Dons duly got them the lead for the first time, and despite a frantic injury time, it proved to be the decisive goal that was enough to win MK Dons the game.

MK Dons: McGill – Offord, Williams (Lewington 45+3), Maguire – Nemane, White, Thompson-Sommers (Kelly 45), Tomlinson (Hendry 45) – Wearne (Harrison 70), Hogan, Gilbey

Subs not used: MacGillivray, Pritchard, Leigh

Goal: Gilbey (22), Harrison (74), Maguire (85)

Booked: Thompson-Sommers

Cheltenham: Day – Bakare (Bowman 88), Bennett, Bradbury – Payne (Pett 88), Kinsella, Young, Thomas (Taylor 88) – Colwill (Dulson 68), Miller, Archer

Subs not used: Evans, Sohna

Goal: Young (6), Miller (13)

The Liberal Democrats have won two MK City Council seats in by-elections held this week.

By-elections were held in the Broughton and Bradwell wards on Thursday (14/11), with the Liberal Democrats winning in both seats.

The results saw Kerrie Bradburn win in Bradwell, representing a ward previously represented by her late father Robin, while Claire Tevlin was elected in the Broughton ward.

Victory in the two by-elections means the Liberal Democrats are now on 18 councillors, making them the official opposition. Labour is the largest block with 30 councillors, while the Conservatives have the other 9 seats.

Cllr Bradburn received 1,129 votes in the Bradwell ward, recording 56% of votes cast. Christian Durugo of the Labour Party was runner-up with 329 votes, followed by Reform UK’s Chrissy Dingsdale on 228 votes, Conservative candidate Krishna Murthy Panthula on 226 and Alan Francis of the Greens with 101. Turnout was 21%.

In a statement, Cllr Bradburn said, “I’m very happy to be representing the area where I grew up and I’m keen to carry on the good work of my Dad Robin Bradburn who served the area for 14 years.”

In Broughton, Cllr Tevlin received 1,169 votes to take victory for the Lib Dems, with it earning 52% of votes cast. Rishi Sharda of the Conservatives was runner-up with 541 votes, followed by Ellis Archer of the Labour Party with 360 votes, then the Greens’ Gary Nicholas Lloyd with 138 votes and Alfred Saint-Clair of the Heritage Party with 61. Turnout was 16%.

Cllr Tevlin said, “Huge thanks to everyone for your support. I am looking forward to working as part of the Broughton Focus Team and with all the Milton Keynes Lib Dems.”

MK Dons have confirmed the departures of four players to non-league clubs on short-term loan deals.

Goalkeeper Nathan Harness has joined Wealdstone on a one-month loan deal, fellow goalkeeper Seb Stacey has made a month-long youth loan to Hitchin Town and duo Albert Wood & Keon Lewis-Burgess have signed for AFC Dunstable.

Harness’ move is his second to a National League side in 2024, having spent the final stages of last season on loan with Gateshead, making six appearances for the side from the North East.

The goalkeeper had started the season as main back-up to Tom McGill, and made three appearances in cup competitions for the side from Stadium MK, including in an EFL Trophy tie against Leyton Orient earlier this week.

In a statement, MK Dons’ Sporting Director Liam Sweeting said they felt this was a good opportunity for the 24-year-old former Charlton goalkeeper.

He said, “We are pleased to secure an important loan opportunity for Nathan.

“At this stage of his career we recognise he needs the match minutes to continue to develop and he will now look to put in a strong run of performances for Wealdstone.

“We’re pleased to be working with Wealdstone once again, who are a club that have an excellent environment for players, and they have given several opportunities to our players in the past.”

Fellow goalkeeper Stacey has made his move out from Milton Keynes to Hitchin. The move is Stacey’s third loan move since signing a professional contract at Stadium MK, with Stacey having previously made moves to AFC Dunstable and Potters Bar Town.

In a brief statement on Stacey’s move, MK Dons’ Academy Manager Ben Smith said, “We’re delighted with Seb’s performances this season, which has given him an opportunity to move up into a higher level of competition with Hitchin Town.”

Wood and Lewis-Burgess’ moves were also confirmed, with the duo making the switch to Bedfordshire. The duo both made appearances for the MK Dons senior team in the EFL Trophy earlier this season.

Talking about the two moves, Smith said, “The opportunity at AFC Dunstable allows Albert to push on from his impressive performances in the EFL Trophy competition.

“Keon’s performances in the youth setup this season will be further strengthened by the opportunity to play senior football.

“AFC Dunstable is a young team with high energy and a strong style of play, so we think Keon will be a great fit.”

Milton Keynes City Council have announced plans to trial using drones for mapping purposes.

The City Council have said the aim of the project is to see if the use of drones, “could transform the way essential and emergency services are delivered in the future.”

Working alongside Cranfield University’s Drone Innovation Hub and Satellite Applications Catapult Westcott DronePort, the city council is due to begin trials next week to test and demonstrate how new drone-based services can work as part of Milton Keynes’ existing Smart City infrastructure.

Flights over Central Milton Keynes will map the area in detail, creating a digital twin which can then be used to inform highways surveys and accident response.

The use of drones could help deliver services such as smart traffic monitoring, secure parcel deliveries, remote building inspections and emergency response. Real-time information sharing through drone technologies will allow several services to work together and act faster when responding to incidents. Integrating ground and air-based services will also reduce carbon emissions, which supports the city council’s climate change commitments.

The 18-month trial, being funded by the UK Government is designed to test the safety and reliability of using drones to inform future policy direction. 

Milton Keynes has already built a strong reputation as a world leader in future technologies and as a smart city. The city council is committed to establishing MK as a testbed for future technologies which helps to unlocks more opportunities to create high-tech jobs for local people.

Cabinet Member for Economy, Sustainability, and Innovation, Cllr Shanika Mahendran, said, “This is yet another instrumental trial coming to MK to test future technologies. The world is moving fast and I’m proud that we’re leading the way in bringing innovative methods to deliver essential services that our residents and businesses rely on. If the trials are successful, it will also help us meet our climate action ambitions and create new jobs of the future for local people.”