MK Dons secure automatic promotion back into League One

    Image Credit: Milton Keynes Dons Football Club

    After a tense final day of the season, Milton Keynes Dons have secured automatic promotion back into League One.

    The Dons return to the third tier of English football at the first time of asking, thanks to a tightly-fought 1-0 victory over fellow promotion chasers Mansfield Town.

    Billed as a 'winner takes all' match, with both the Dons and Mansfield able to secure promotion with a victory, it was the Milton Keynes club that took control from very early on.

    After just three minutes of play, the Dons took the decisive 1-0 lead thanks to a David Wheeler header.

    With the Dons picking up a corner in front of the huge Mansfield contingent, captain Dean Lewington lofted a perfect ball into the box for Wheeler to connect with, giving the home side a lead that they wouldn't relinquish.

    The Dons had a number of opportunities to extend their lead, most notably in the second half when Kieran Agard was through on goal but wasn't able to lift his shot over goalkeeper Conrad Logan.

    The feisty affair saw both sides give away a number of fouls but saw referee Lee Probert keep his cards in his pocket - with Dons keeper Lee Nicholls the first to see yellow for time wasting in the second half.

    With ten minutes of added time (four and six in either half respectively), it took the Dons 100 minutes of football to secure automatic promotion, giving Paul Tisdale a satisfying end to his first year in charge of the club.

    A bumper crowd of 20,718 witnessed the Dons' automatic promotion success, the highest attendance of the entire season.

    Now the team will have time to rest before returning in the summer with their sights set on a strong showing in League One next season, with plenty of new faces expected to help bolster Tisdale's squad.

    For now, it's a time for celebration as the Dons secured their third promotion in the club's short history.

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