Westley: The defeat against MK Dons has left us ‘bewildered’

Karl Robinson. Photo: Harry Hubbard (Image: Archant)

Graham Westley says his side has been left ‘bewildered’ after throwing away a two-goal lead to lose at home to MK Dons.

Boro led 2-0 with just over 10 minute to go, but a Jordan Spence prodded shot, a Ben Reeves stunner and Dean Lewington’s injury-time winner saw Karl Robinson’s men head back to Stadium:mk with all three points.

Speaking after the match, Westley said that the strong wind worked in his side’s favour in the first half but against his team in the second and that it contributed to bringing to an end his side’s six-match unbeaten run.

The Boro boss, though, added that not for the first time this season his players, having taken the lead, sat back and invited pressure upon themselves.

“It’s a difficult second half to take; everybody is a little bit bewildered,” Westley said.

“We’ve had a good run of results, been unbeaten in six going in to today, and but for a difficult second half we could have come away unbeaten in seven.

“We knew conditions would be a factor in the game. A wind right to left as we looked at it, and we felt that it was important to take the initiative and get the conditions with us it the first half.

“We turned the game around and we managed to get the momentum of the game going forward. It was two [at half-time] and it could have been a lot more.

“We all know the danger of a 2-0 scoreline. On the one hand you feel like you’ve got something that you really need to protect and on the other you know that you’ve got to keep taking the game forward if you’re going to be certain [of the win].

“We’ve seen [the team sit back] two or three times now. Crewe second half was horrible, and Crawley second half was horrible where we sort of went backs to the wall.

“It wasn’t a tactic, it sort of happened, and once a team’s mentality gets into that state it can be very difficult trying to break the mould.

“We’re trying to break the mould, trying to get the message to people to get up the pitch, to take our game forward, to control the game by controlling the ball.

“We just couldn’t get out of that mindset that we had something and we seemed desperate to hang on to it.

“Hopefully that second half, added to the Crawley second half, added to that Crewe second half – the penny might drop and we might be that little bit more convincing as we lead at half time in games to come.”