SHOULD a book of English football clichés ever be published, somewhere near the front it will say “winning is a habit”. Logically then, losing should also be one and the freshly rebranded Milton Keynes Dons are so badly addicted that they should look at setting up a Buckinghamshire branch of Losers Anonymous.
Having been relegated last season, this was a first win for the team that now plays in white in Coca-Cola League One, but they will be lucky to find many teams as poor as Torquay United.
“Relieved to have won, relieved to have kept a clean sheet,” Stuart Murdoch, the Milton Keynes manager, said. “It was very anxious, very nervous, you could feel that in the crowd in the second half.”
In the first half, Milton Keynes did all that Murdoch could have asked of them. They were energetic and a few yards faster than Torquay, although their finishing let them down. Lauren Herve was given a gift in the penalty area when Matthew Hockley, the Torquay midfield player, lost the ball, only to hit the inside of a post, while Allan Smart volleyed wide.
The goal came in first-half injury time, Jason Puncheon, the home side’s best player, winning the ball off Martin Phillips at the corner of the area and unleashing a fearsome shot into the top corner.
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Milton Keynes allowed Torquay back into the game, but the visiting side were let down by poor play in front of goal. “We have to build on this,” Murdoch said, “even if that means getting an ugly draw at Chesterfield (on Saturday), as long as we come back here having not been beaten.”
MILTON KEYNES DONS (4-4-2): S Bevan — G Edds, S Palmer, H Ntimbah-Zeh, D Lewington — M Kamara, B Chorley, L Herve (sub: B Harding, 78min), J Puncheon (sub: W Small, 75) — A Smart, I McLeod. Substitutes not used: D Martin, M Williams, B Harding, J Mackie. Booked: Kamara.
TORQUAY UNITED: A Van Heusden — A Bedeau, C Taylor, S Woods, B McGlinchey — J Kuffour, M Hockley, B Meirelles, M Phillips (sub: S Wardley, 52) — M Gritton, S Noble (sub: G Owen, 61). Substitutes not used: K Dearden, M Villis, K Bond. Booked: Meirelles.
Referee: K Wright.