Dons coming back to the boil

Reporter: Matthew Chambers
Date published: 17 March 2015


CELEBRATING goals against former clubs appears to be in vogue at the moment.

David Luiz’s joy was clearly expressed when he powered home a headed equaliser for Paris St Germain against ex-club Chelsea in the Champions League last week.

Lee Johnson’s fist-pump made the front page of yesterday’s Chronicle as he hailed a victory for his new side Barnsley at the weekend.

And tonight’s opponents at SportsDirect.com Park, MK Dons, had a striker in Will Grigg who wasn’t shy at showing what a strike against Walsall — the club he joined as a 17 year old — meant to him.

That goal from the borrowed Brentford man helped Karl Robinson’s men stop the rot by way of a 1-1 draw at the Bank’s Stadium, ending a three-match losing streak. Robinson was pleased both with Grigg and his side’s resolve as he bids to inject life back into the bid for promotion.

“You see a lot of people not celebrating when they score against their old team, but we all watched David Luiz against Chelsea and you have got to applaud him for the honesty and integrity shown towards the club he now plays for,” said Robinson.

“If you score, there is emotion there. For a team to be on a bad run and for us to respond in the way we did was very good.

“I have seen elements of us getting back to what we are good at. I thought we looked very good as the game wore on and we could have nicked it. It was a tick in the box towards the right direction.”

Dons have won twice in their last nine games, losing ground on the top two in the process.

No wonder the 1-1 draw at Walsall, secured by Grigg’s 32nd-minute strike after Tom Bradshaw’s opener after eight minutes, was greeted with relief.