Conor McGrandles singled out for praise by MK Dons boss Paul Tisdale

Posted Wednesday, November 28, 2018 by PA

Paul Tisdale heaped praise on Conor McGrandles for his performance in MK Dons’ 2-0 win over Morecambe.

The midfielder returned to the side to see them go back to the top of the league courtesy of two long-range goals from Alex Gilbey, his first and second of the season.

Tisdale was pleased with the result and his team’s performance, joking that he had previously mocked Gilbey for his lack of goals of this season.

The 23-year-old midfielder eased a night of frustration for the promotion-chasing hosts with a low drive to open the scoring just before the hour mark and followed it up with an even better strike six minutes from time.

The MK Dons boss said: “We have been ribbing Alex (Gilbey) about not getting his name on the scoresheet and he has come up with a timely brace of delightful finishes.

“But my man of the night is Conor McGrandles. To play 90 minutes and do as well as he did after being out for so long is great and he got a round of applause from the lads in the dressing room which is a nice touch.

“Lawson D’Ath did a great job in the second half, as did all the substitutes. We could even have scored a third at the end, but I’m pleased with a 2-0 win.”

The Dons were forced to make some early changes after defender Jordan Moore-Taylor went off injured followed by Chuks Aneke, but the home side held on to their clean sheet.

“It was an odd game in that we lost Jordan (Moore-Taylor) in the first half and it took us a while to adapt,” Tisdale added.

“You can plan your substitutions but then Chuks (Aneke) also came off injured but Alex has has come up with a beautifully-taken side-footer from 22 yards.”

Morecambe boss Jim Bentley believed his side came up against “extra quality” on the night and believed that the second goal, that killed them off, was against the run of play.

He said: “MK are at the top of the table for a reason and it’s their extra quality in the final third.

“Their lad has come up with two goals from 22 and 25 yards with composed finishes whereas we’ve got into their box three, four or five times and slashed or smashed our finishes without testing the goalkeeper.

“They had quite a lot of possession in the first half but we dug in and protected Mark Halstead so he never had a shot to save.

“We’ve had a couple of chances with Andrew Tutte hitting a post and losing him to injury was a killer blow to us. He has an underlying calf problem.

“Their goals have come from outside the box, including a killer goal against the run of play.”