BIRKENHEAD. Milton Keynes Dons beat Tranmere Rovers to win 2-1. A goal from E. Harrison was decisive in the 90min. It was Milton Keynes Dons to strike first with an early goal of Alex Gilbey at the 9′. Then it was a goal in the 12′ minute to make things even for 1-1. Eventually, Ellis Harrison gave the win to Milton Keynes Dons in the 90′ minute with a goal. Milton Keynes Dons was much superior in terms of ball possession (65%) and that was among the factors of its victory.​

The match was played at the Prenton Park stadium in Birkenhead on Saturday and it started at 3:00 pm local time. The referee was Darren Drysdale assisted by Daniel Robinson and Grant Taylor. The 4th official was Alex Gray. The weather was overcast clouds. The temperature was cold at 7.17 degrees Celsius or 44.91 Fahrenheit. The humidity was 93%.​

Match Statistics​

Tranmere Rovers

1 - 2

Milton Keynes Dons

  • ! 35 Ball Possession 65
Shots
  • 5 Total 24
  • 2 On Target 6
  • 2 Off Target 12
  • 2 Shots blocked 6
  • 83 Attack 138
  • 29 Dangerous attack 68
  • 84 Ball safe 85
  • 0 Penalties 0
  • 2 Corners 6
Fouls
  • 7 Total 10
  • 1 Yellow Cards 0
  • 0 Double Yellow 0
  • 0 Red Card 0
Other
  • 5 Substitutions 2

Ball possession

Milton Keynes Dons had a strong ball possession 65% while Tranmere Rovers was struggling with a 35% ball possession.

Attitude and shots

Milton Keynes Dons was putting more pressure with 68 dangerous attacks and 24 shots of which 6 were on target. This is one of the reasons why Milton Keynes Dons won the contest.​

Tranmere Rovers shot 5 times, 2 on target, 2 off target. Regarding the opposition, Milton Keynes Dons shot 24 times, 6 on target, 12 off target.

Cards

Tranmere Rovers received 1 yellow card (Robert Apter). On the opposite side, Milton Keynes Dons didn’t receive any yellow card.

Match Timeline

9'
Alex Gilbey(goal)MJ Williams
Kieron Morris(goal)
12'
Rob Apter- Yellow
45'
Reece McAlear- sub ->Kieron Morris
67'
Paul Lewis- sub ->Charlie Jolley
68'
72'
Ellis Harrison- sub ->Max Dean
72'
Josh Hawkes- sub ->Brad Walker
80'
James Norris- sub ->Connor Wood
90'
Josef Yarney- sub ->Dan Pike
90'
90'
Ellis Harrison(goal)

Standings

Standings
Team
Pts
Pl
Last 5
Stockport County
92
46
Wrexham
88
46
Mansfield Town
86
46
Milton Keynes Dons
78
46
Doncaster Rovers
71
46
Crewe Alexandra
71
46
Crawley Town
70
46
Barrow
69
46
Bradford City
69
46
AFC Wimbledon
65
46
Walsall
65
46
Gillingham
64
46
Harrogate Town
63
46
Notts County
61
46
Morecambe
58
46
Tranmere Rovers
57
46
Accrington Stanley
57
46
Newport County
55
46
Swindon Town
54
46
Salford City
51
46
Grimsby Town
49
46
Colchester United
45
46
Sutton United
42
46
Forest Green Rovers
42
46

After playing this match, Tranmere Rovers stays with 33 points to remain in the 18th place. On the other side, Milton Keynes Dons will has 42 points to sit in the 7th place.

Next matches

In the next match in the League Two, Tranmere Rovers will play away with Swindon Town on the 20th of January with a 11-7 head to head stats in favor of Swindon Town (3 draws).

Milton Keynes Dons will host Morecambe on the 20th of January with a 8-1 head to head in favor of Milton Keynes Dons (1 draw).

Tranmere Rovers – Formation

Tranmere Rovers
G
Luke McGee 1.England
7.0
D
Tom Davies 5.England
6.4
D
Jordan Turnbull 6.England
7.1
D
Dan Pike 24.England
7.5
90'
D
Connor Wood 27.England
7.5
90'
M
Brad Walker 4.England
7.0
80'
M
Kieron Morris 7.England
7.3
67' 12'
M
Regan Hendry 8.Scotland
6.8
M
Rob Apter 25.Scotland
6.3
45'
F
Charlie Jolley 12.England
6.6
68'
F
Connor Jennings 18.England
7.3
Substitutes
G
Joe Murphy 13.Republic of Ireland
D
Josef Yarney 21.England
90'
D
James Norris 26.England
90'
M
Josh Hawkes 11.England
6.4
80'
M
Paul Lewis 22.England
6.7
68'
M
Reece McAlear 23.Scotland
6.6
67'
F
Kristian Dennis 14.England

Tranmere Rovers started with a conservative line-up (4-4-2).

The manager Nigel Adkins decided to play with the following team: Luke McGee (7.0), Dan Pike (7.5), Tom Davies (6.4), Jordan Turnbull (7.1), Connor Wood (7.5), Robert Apter (6.3), Brad Walker (7.0), Regan Hendry (6.8), Kieron Morris (7.3), Connor Jennings (7.3) and Charlie Jolley (6.6).

The home team had on the bench: Josh Hawkes (6.4), Joe Murphy, Kristian Dennis, Josef Yarney, Paul Lewis (6.7), Reece McAlear (6.6) and James Norris.

Substitutions

Tranmere Rovers made 5 changes: Charlie Jolley for Paul Lewis (68′), Kieron Morris for Reece McAlear (67′), Brad Walker for Josh Hawkes (80′), Connor Wood for James Norris (90′) and Dan Pike for Josef Yarney (90′).

Player of the match: Dan Pike​

The most impressive player for Tranmere Rovers was Dan Pike.

His rating is 7.5 with 34 passes (74% accurate) and 1 key pass. He won 3 duels out of 7. He performed 2 crosses.

Milton Keynes Dons – Formation

Milton Keynes Dons
G
Michael Kelly 32.Republic of Ireland
6.8
D
Cameron Norman 2.England
6.7
D
Dean Lewington 3.England
7.7
D
Warren O'Hora 5.Republic of Ireland
7.5
M
MJ Williams 6.Wales
7.7
M
Jack Payne 11.England
7.0
M
Joe Tomlinson 14.England
7.9
M
Ethan Robson 17.England
M
Kyran Lofthouse 29.England
7.1
72'
F
Alex Gilbey 8.England
7.5
9'
F
Max Dean 18.England
7.0
72'
F
Dan Kemp 27.England
7.9
Substitutes
G
Craig MacGillivray 1.Scotland
D
Tommy Smith 15.New Zealand
M
C. Grant 16.Republic of Ireland
F
Jonathan Leko 7.England
6.7
72'
F
Ellis Harrison 9.Wales
7.3
72' 90'
F
Mo Eisa 10.Sudan

Milton Keynes Dons started with a 3-4-2-1 line-up (3-4-2-1).

Mike Williamson played with: Michael Kelly (6.8), Cameron Norman (6.7), Warren O’Hora (7.5), Dean Lewington (7.7), K. Lofthouse (7.1), Jack Payne (7.0), MJ Williams (7.7), Ethan Robson, Joe Tomlinson (7.9), Dan Kemp (7.9) and Max Dean (7.0), Alex Gilbey (7.5).

The following players were sitting on the bench: Craig MacGillivray, Jonathan Leko (6.7), Ellis Harrison (7.3), Mo Eisa, Tommy Smith and Conor Grant.

Substitutions

Milton Keynes Dons made 2 changes: K. Lofthouse for Jonathan Leko (72′) and Max Dean for Ellis Harrison (72′).

Player of the match: Joe Tomlinson​

The player that probably impressed the most for Milton Keynes Dons was Joe Tomlinson even if he didn’t score any goal.

His rating is 7.9 with 56 passes (71% accurate) and 4 key passes. He won 7 duels out of 11. He performed 13 crosses.

Results of the day

These are the results of the day in the League Two.​