Milton Keynes Dons climbed to 19th in League One after claiming a 1-0 home victory over Morecambe, giving them three wins in a row.
The Dons began the match retaining the majority of possession, and Jonathan Leko, making his return after his three-match suspension, gave his side hope early on with a neat turn and run followed up by a low shot that forced Ripley into a save.
Leko then had another effort minutes later, curling a shot outside the Morecambe penalty area, only to see the ball sail high over the bar. Seconds later and Mo Eisa was in on the action, making his own progressive run before skimming a shot along the ground, with Ripley getting in the way of it again.
As the first half progressed, the visitors settled into their own rhythm and began to impose their presence. The home side found themselves hemmed inside their own half for stretches, struggling to collect loose balls and forced into making timely defensive decisions.
The Dons managed to get forward and Josh McEachran's pass into the box found Eisa, who struck well but saw his effort saved by Ripley.
Morecambe had a chance with six minutes left in the first half, seeing the outside-the-box volley sail far over the bar.
Mark Jackson's side came to life as time dwindled in the first half, with Conor Grant picking out Leko with a neat sideways pass, seeing the winger feed the ball to Eisa racing into the box.
The striker tried to send the ball back towards goal from a tight angle but Ripley was low and managed to keep it away from danger. Moments later, the referee blew for the half-time break.
The Dons began the restart lively, with Grant intercepting well and getting the ball to Daniel Harvie deep inside the box, with the defender chipping a pass up to Eisa to head. The contact wasn't enough and the ball rolled harmlessly wide.
Neither side truly imposed themselves through the opening ten minutes of the second half, until Jonathan Leko pounced on Harvie's pass to put the home side 1-0 ahead.
Harvie raced into the box from the left flank and coolly slotted a pass along the ground, narrowly avoiding the last Morecambe defender, allowing Leko to tap home calmly and send the home crowd into rapturous applause.
The visitors almost responded immediately, pressing into the Dons' area and winning a corner. Cumming punched the ball away, sending it towards Pape Souare, who struck a strong volley shot towards goal, seeing it go narrowly wide.
Ash Hunter jumped on a loose ball and took a shot outside the Dons area, but Jamie Cumming was down low and held onto the ball firmly.
Leko then gave the Dons a chance with a firm strike that forced Ripley into a palming save. The ball bounced up high and Eisa tried to tap it in on the rebound, but mis-hit and saw the ball bounce on the ground and bobble into Ripley's arms safely.
A Morecambe mix-up in clearing the ball allowed second-half substitute Will Grigg to take a long-range shot towards an open goal, but the effort curled too much and eventually rolled harmlessly away from danger.
With five minutes added on, the visitors attempted desperately to find a way back into the game. A late corner saw Ripley go up for it, but the Dons were able to hold on and clear the danger to secure all three points.
With other results going in their favour, the Dons moved into 19th place in the League One standings and now sit four points outside of the relegation zone, with Mark Jackson's side facing eight more cup finals in their hunt for relegation survival.
MK Dons Line-Up: Cumming, Watson, Tucker, Lewington, Harvie, McEachran (89' Johnson), Maghoma, Lawrence, Grant (82' Devoy), Leko (72' Holland), Eisa (72' Grigg)
