MOORS HAND BARKER A SCARE
RICHIE Barker insisted Spennymoor Town’s never-say-die attitude was not a surprise as the MK Dons caretaker boss admitted his players did all they needed to see off their non-league opponents.
After 15 minutes Spennymoor’s historic run in the FA Cup looked set to come to a humiliating end as goals from Ben Reeves, Kieran Agard and Brandon Thomas Asante saw the Dons cruise into a 3-0 lead.
But former Hartlepool defender Joe Tait snatched the visitors a goal just minutes later before Andrew Johnson’s late strike with five minutes remaining had League One MK Dons holding the ball up at the corner flags.
“I said to them at 3-0 we could make this afternoon an enjoyable one,” said Barker, who’s been in temporary charge at MK Dons following the sacking of Karl Robinson.
“At the end of the day we came here to win the game and we’ve won it. There are plenty of other teams that didn’t win and should have done, but it was always going to be a difficult situation.
“We would have taken the win before the game, Spennymoor were never going to roll over and die for us so in the end we’ve done what we needed to do.”
It took the hosts little more than seven minutes to take the lead as Reeves fired a low right-footed shot past Moors keeper Dan Lowson from the edge of the area.
Thomas-Asante made it 2-0 with a tap in after Dean Lewington’s cross found the 17-year-old unmarked in the six-yard box, before Agard’s cross-cum-shot bundled its way into the visitors’ bottom corner.
But Jason Ainsley’s Northern Premier League side managed to get themselves on the scoresheet five minutes later as former Hartlepool defender Tait rose above his marker inside the Dons box to meet Craig Gott’s cross with a cushioned header into the far corner.
After that the Non-League side rode their luck, Nicky Maynard twice coming very close to extending the Dons’ lead in a dominant second-half display.
But late in the second half Moors substitute Johnson made it a nervy finish for the League One side with an emphatic solo goal just over five minutes from time – but it proved to be too little too late to Ainsley’s disappointment.
“I thought we were outstanding in the second half,” said Moors boss Ainsley.
“The lads can come away with a lot of credit because for the final five minutes they were holding it up at the corner flag so that just shows you what we’ve achieved.
“The supporters were magnificent and I’m glad we gave them something to shout about.
“After ten minutes I felt sorry for them to be honest and when the third goal went in it looked like it was going to be a bit embarrassing.
“The players from MK Dons certainly know who we are now and that we’re not just a pub team from County Durham.”