Just five minutes are left on the clock. We’re that close to signing off a much-needed first win since the start of February. And on comes the living legend himself, Ronnie Henry, to bring up 500 outings in Boro’s red and white and blue and black and yellow and whatever other away colours we’ve won over the last 14 years. Well, what can we say? The man loves setting records at the Lamex.
Then Ilias Chair scores from his own half and you’ve forgotten about all that piffery. Timing is everything.
MK Dons v Stevenage: The Lowdown
MK Dons, is it? The Wanderers once from Wimbledon, common though they may be, didn’t take too kindly to finishing below AFC for the first time last term. It was almost by the by they were flushed out of League One during the process, but that’s their issue. It doesn’t look like they’re keen on staying around for the inevitable return of the ‘proper’ Dons next season either. And there was us hoping history would go and repeat itself…
The Opposition
P11 W5 D2 L4 F14 A16; last result: Stevenage 3-2 MK Dons, 24/11/2018
Our fun-filled win over the Dons earlier this season means we now have the better of our head-to-head record. Fancy that, eh? Two of our five victories have been at their place, but it’s more than six years since the last one and the other was on pelanties. The four-year gap between league meetings skews things a bit, though. So we guess what we’re saying is that our record against ’em carries little weight this far down the track.
The Referee
P3 W0 D1 L1 F3 A4; last result: Wycombe Wanderers 1-0 Stevenage, 05/05/2018
We’re not gonna pull the same gag each time this ref is forced on us, so we’ll just tell you it’s Martin Coy and let you fill in your own blanks. The man Coy isn’t the most familiar face to us, and it’s just as well. We’re yet to win on his watch. Last time out was the single-goal defeat at Wycombe on the final day of last season. Before that, there was a 0-0 at Grimsby and the 3-3 draw with Newport indoors.
The Form
MK’s run of five wins on the spin came to a surprising end during the week with a 4-2 defeat at Morecambe. That run, however, has seen them get back up the charts after a sticky patch. They sit fourth, level on points with Mansfield – but goal difference would force them to go through the playoffs if the season ended today. But it won’t. So why even mention it?
The Dons are a competent team – fifth best home record, third best attack and fifth best defence. And they have found the net in each of their last nine matches, which makes us wince enough without knowing we’ve not kept a clean sheet on the road since Cheltenham on 27 October. If we were going to pick an away day to sort that iffy record, this would not be the one. Then again, which one would? Our next upcoming match on the road is up at Macclesfield Town. With Boro’ still just about in the playoff race and the Silkmen desperate for points to avoid relegation, it could be a tight one to call – especially if you’re thinking about backing us at the bookies.
If you don’t want to take your chances on us, why not take a look at some of the free betting tips listed on Top Football Tipster. Updated every week, you could try and beat the bookmaker and come away with something this weekend – even if Boro’ don’t at Moss Rose.”
• MORE ABOUT ‘EM: MK Dons club profile