Offord and Orsi at the double as the Dons down the sorry Shrimpers

Milton Keynes Dons showed real signs of improvement during their victory at home over Morecambe, winning 2-1 this Saturday in Sky Bet League Two action.

Goals from Luke Offord and Danilo Orsi either side of the break secure all three points.

Morecambe did score a Lee Angol penalty but remain in the relegation zone.

Having had the chance to get his feet under the table and impart his own views, Ben Gladwin, the interim Head Coach at MK Dons could see the desire to play in a more fluid, open style from the start.

Following the departure of the former Head Coach Scott Lindsey after last week’s lame defeat at the hands of Colchester, Gladwin did not have one training session after taking over the reins.

His first game in charge saw his side lose 2-0 on the road at Accrington Stanley, in which their performance could only be described as abject.

This display against a Morecambe side who are rooted at the bottom of the league table, showed embers of a team playing with more freedom and a weight off their shoulders.

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Knowing they are realistically two wins away from survival in the league, sitting 17^th albeit with the bottom two sides in Carlisle and Morecambe rather cut adrift, over ten points below. What it means is that with 12 games to go in the campaign, there is the opportunity to still lay foundations and build possibly at more permanent aspirations ahead of next season.

The Dons did go behind after a needless penalty was given away midway through the first half.

Goalkeeper Trueman felled Shrimpers striker Lee Angol, who coolly slotted home and converted to break the deadlock.

It was the fourth penalty conceded in their last eight games, it is a record and slate all inside Stadium MK are desperate to clean going into the games on the horizon.

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On the stroke of half time, defender Luke Offord fired a deserved equaliser home after a delicious cross by Dan Crowley.

Crowley, a January acquisition from Notts County, registered his second goal involvement in 11 games.

Having accrued 26 in 46 matches last season, backed up by ten for Notts County in just 18 games prior to January this campaign, it has been a far slower start than hoped but the signs are promising to go forward, given the fact he has penned a three-year deal with the aim of being the talisman pulling the strings.

The Dons finally took the lead for the first time in a home match since January, after Danilo Orsi struck home in the second half to grab his second since joining.

It was an effort that looped over the stranded Lee Burgoyne in goal for the visitors, earning Gladwin his first scalp in League management.

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What are the Dons hoping to get out of giving Gladwin the hot seat on an interim basis?

If he can string a run of results together, build the cohesion amongst the squad and get all sights of progression showing, it may well tempt the hierarchy at the Buckinghamshire outfit to give him his first full-time opportunity.

Given that the Club has a history in providing Managers and Head Coaches with their first opportunities, with Karl Robinson and Russell Martin being two of these, it would not be a leap that is scary for the board and supporters alike.

If after the first four or five games that there have not been any clear signs of progression, there has been no real sense of momentum or structure being put into place, then the moves will already have been put into place in the search for a long-term successor.

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Going forward, the run of games becomes that little bit harder, as the calibre of opposition increases in their league position.

Having gone through a run of opposition teams that sit in the lowly table places, they move up against those in and around the promotion places, with the exception of basement boys Carlisle United.

The quirk of the fixture list will see Gladwin get given a firm litmus test to look and cut his teeth on.

Matches against in-form teams such as Port Vale and Cheltenham will prove far tougher tests than the previous fixtures, but the Dons will not worry too much about these important matches on the cusp, but, primarily focus on putting the hard yards in on the training pitch in the days to come ahead of going again next Saturday.