[ 4 Oct 25 ] MK Dons v GILLS Match Thread

[Garawa]

- The Gills won both fixtures last season 1-0 and have won 3 of the last 4 meetings. Before that, they had only won 2 of the previous 8. At stadium:mk, the Gills have won 1 and drawn 1 of their last 3 visits after seeing 4 successive losses there.
- Following a 5-0 home win over Cheltenham, MK Dons have lost all 3 of their home games that succeeded it and have lost 4 in a row at home in all competitions, scoring 4 goals and conceding 11.
- MK Dons won their previous game - a 2-1 win at Shrewsbury. It ended a league winless run of 4 games and 4 defeats in 5 in all competitions. The Gills ended their record uneaten league run with their home defeat at the weekend.
- The Gills have had 78 attempts at goal that were off target or blocked and MK Dons have had 77. The average per game in League 2 is 8.1 and the most in a match has been 19 (3 games). MK Dons have seen just 3, 4 and 3 shots off target in their last 3 games and 6 in the game before.
- In MK Dons' 5 home league games, they have only managed to score the first goal in one of them, their only home league win this season. They have conceded first in 3 of those 5 home games and they lost all 3.
- The Gills have conceded just 3 second half goals in their 10 league games but none in their last 6 games. MK Dons have only conceded 4 goals after half time with all 4 coming in their last 5 games.

[Sat 4th October 2025] EFL Sky Bet League 2: MK Dons v Gillingham FC
Opposition Manager: Paul Warne Matchday Team (4 - 3 - 3): Craig MacGillivray, Luke Offord, Marvin Ekpiteta, Jon Mellish, Laurence Maguire (Nathan Thompson), Liam Kelly (Daniel Crowley), [c] Alex Gilbey, Aaron Nemane, Will Collar (Kane Thompson-Sommers), Callum Paterson, Nathaniel Mendez-Laing (Jonathan Leko)
Opposition League Position: Sky Bet League 2 (9th)
Referee: Darren Drysdale
Attendance: 7,646

(12.31) Kick Off [ 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 ]
The Gills are under the stewardship of Richard Dobson whilst Gareth Ainsworth recovers from heart surgery.
(12.36) GOAL! MK Dons 1-0 Gillingham: Gale (og)
(12.50) Rowe concedes a free kick right on the edge of the box. Paterson powers it into the wall and it gets trapped under the players feet and cleared. No shots on target for either side yet.
(13.15) The Gills have a free kick which is swung in and 2 Gills players go to ground but a goal kick is awarded.
(13.16) 1 minute of stoppage time will be added.
(13.17) Half time 1-0 [46:04]

(13.34) The second half kicks off.
(13.38) A Jonny Williams free kick as perfectly weighted to find the head of Coleman who brushes the roof of the net.
(13.42) Nevitt, with a run down the right, pulls the ball back for McKenzie running into the box and his first time shot is brilliantly parried. The Gills corner is headed wide with 'keeper caught out.
(13.45) MK Dons survive a handball shout. The Gills recycle the ball with Rowe powering a cross from the left. It is left, hits Andrews and trickles goalward from a brilliant position to score.
(13.46) GOAL! MK Dons 2-0 Gillingham: Mendez-Laing
(13.49) Mendez-Laing counter-attacks from the half-way line and slides in Kelly who puts it wide with the goal at his mercy and Morris scrambling across.
(13.52) Andrews nods down but it is narrowly behind Andy Smith who sticks out a back heel but can't make the connection to guide it past MacGillivray.
(13.58) GOAL! MK Dons 3-0 Gillingham: Paterson
(14.00) Gale, just outside his penalty area, drops a perfect ball to the feet of Jonny Williams in the opposition's D. He takes a touch then volleys a shot just over the bar.
(14.02) Gale is fouled on the edge of the box but, before the ref can decide, Williams smashes loose ball just over the bar with a fierce drive.
(14.04) GOAL! MK Dons 3-1 Gillingham: Palmer-Houlden
(14.19) The fourth official signals for a minimum of 5 additional minutes.
(14.23) GOAL! MK Dons 3-2 Gillingham: J Williams
(14.24) FULL TIME 3-2 [96.25]

Gills' League Position After Game:
Match Report: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/c5y8vjydg4lt
Match highlights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeTnTpDzX5g