Mike Williamson praised his MK Dons side as they picked up their first win of the season by beating Carlisle 3-0.
Goals from Callum Hendry, Alex Gilbey and Joe Tomlinson won the day for the home side.
Aaron Nemane created the first two in the first half and a late third came in second-half stoppage time when Tomlinson’s strike from Tommy Leigh’s pass found the bottom corner.
Williamson said: “I’m just really pleased for the boys. I know we talk about making sure we focus on the controllables and don’t listen to the noise and things like that, and I’m as pleased for the boys as the fans as well.
“We got our rewards today which is something we didn’t feel we had in the first two games. We’ve just got to keep to what we’re doing and how we can affect games.
“We lose a bit of concentration in periods and they got on top in patches, but I thought everyone was brilliant to a man, the subs came on and impacted it as well and it was a real squad performance.
“We’ve got to keep pushing the standards and we know a moment’s lapse of concentration can change the momentum and feel of the game. It takes so much detail and timings and there’s a lot to go with it and we’ve got to make sure we’re dragging it out of each other. The goals look simple but a lot goes into that on the training ground.”
Carlisle head coach Paul Simpson was disappointed with his side’s failure to follow up victory over Barrow with a comparable display.
He said: “A very, very disappointing afternoon for us. First two goals were virtually identical goals that we’ve given away.
“Their first goal is probably their first attack and first time they’ve got into the final third around the 18-yard area, and we had opportunities before that including one straight from kick-off.
“You have to find those moments and make them count, and we haven’t, and we get done. Second half, we had moments where we should have produced better quality than we did and we don’t make that count.
“We just haven’t done enough. We haven’t passed the ball well or done the basics as well as we are capable of.
“You can’t have a gulf between what we had last week and today if you want to achieve anything, and that’s the major disappointment. There’s nothing more we can do about it – we’ll just have to get on the coach, get home and hope it can be better next week.”
Interim boss Stephen Frail expects Motherwell to appoint a new manager next week and admits their first job will be to lift the players’ confidence after a 3-0 mauling at home to Ross County.A double from Ronan Hale and Connor Randall’s last-minute strike secured an impressive victory for the Staggies at Fir Park.Defeat sees the Steelmen drop into the bottom half of the Premiership tab...
Mark Hughes heaped praise on goalkeeper Gabe Breeze after Carlisle picked up a vital point in the League Two relegation battle with a goalless draw against in-form Colchester at Brunton Park.Breeze made two excellent saves from Lyle Taylor as the Cumbrians ended a four-game losing run and the former Man City boss was astounded by the 21-year-old’s performance.He said: “The game had som...
Chesterfield boss Paul Cook launched a scathing attack on his play-off hopefuls after they surrendered an early lead to lose 3-1 at Sky Bet League Two table-toppers Walsall.The Spireites enjoyed a rapid start when Jamie Grimes’ eighth-minute header put them ahead against a wobbling Walsall side, who were winless in five matches with the chasing pack closing in.However, Bim Pepple and Dylan D...
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has allayed fears of an injury scare to top scorer Erling Haaland ahead of next week’s Champions League trip to Real Madrid.Haaland went down clutching his leg in the latter stages of the champions’ 4-0 Premier League thrashing of Newcastle at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday and was immediately substituted.Losing the Norwegian would be a major blow to ...
Rotherham manager Steve Evans described Thomas Parsons’ performance as “atrocious” after the referee awarded a stoppage-time penalty from which Reading snatched a 2-1 victory in League One.Reading had led 1-0 at half-time through top scorer Harvey Knibbs but Sam Nombe levelled for Rotherham from a spot-kick in the 57th minute.With the game heading for a draw, Parsons adjudged Mil...
Michael Flynn believes his team can make a charge towards the League Two play-offs places after watching them come from 2-0 down to beat Barrow 3-2 at home.Matty Taylor scored twice before fellow substitute Ashley Hay hit the winner as the Robins continued their perfect home record in 2025.Cheltenham climbed to 13th in the table and sit eight points off seventh-placed Crewe with two games in hand....
Birmingham manager Chris Davies praised Jay Stansfield’s work ethic after he lit up St Andrew’s with the only goal of a 1-0 win to sink play-off chasing Charlton.Stansfield’s 23rd-minute strike stretched City’s lead to nine points ahead of second-placed Wycombe, with Blues boasting a game in hand.Victory was City’s 30th in all competitions as they extended their unbea...
Andoni Iraola refused to get carried away after Bournemouth fans were left dreaming of a potential Champions League adventure following a first league double over south-coast rivals Southampton.Travelling Cherries fans chanted of playing in European football’s premier competition next season after their side soared to fifth spot in the Premier League table thanks to a deserved 3-1 success at...
Norwich head coach Johannes Hoff Thorup praised his side for fighting back to draw 1-1 at Hull after he demanded “I want to see my football team back”.The Norwich boss had some tough words for his team as they trailed 1-0 at half-time to the relegation-threatened side, including for Kellen Fisher – but the player then delivered the assist for Josh Sargent’s equaliser.The Un...
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says Jota has a chance of starting against Bayern Munich after scoring and impressing in a 3-0 victory over Dundee United.Jota earned the club’s man-of-the-match award after cutting in from the left and curling home from 18 yards to double the lead given to the hosts by another impressive finish from Callum McGregor.The Portuguese winger has now started two gam...
