Paul Warne wanted MK Dons to be ‘a bit more clinical’ in draw at Crawley

Paul Warne admitted his MK Dons side were not as good in the final third as they could have been after a second-half equaliser from defender Luke Offord secured them a 1-1 draw at Crawley.

The Dons conceded for the first time this season when forward Ade Adeyemo struck deep in first-half stoppage time, but Crawley’s hopes of forcing a first win of the season were snuffed out when Offord powerfully headed in Gethin Jones’ cross at the far post.

MK being up against their former boss Scott Lindsey added extra spice to an entertaining encounter, and boss Warne admitted that at one stage he wondered whether “it might not be our night”.

He said: “I felt we were unlucky to be 1-0 down at half-time but in the final third we needed to be a bit more clinical.

“With Crawley yet to win, it felt quite emotional but we came to win and it was an end-to-end game.”

Defender Joe Tomlinson was forced off with an ankle injury after only 13 minutes and Warne said: “He looks in a bad way. It’s too early to know, but it doesn’t look great.”

Lindsey felt his Crawley players did themselves justice by getting their first point of the season after three straight league defeats, and “probably deserved more than a point”.

He said: “It was a brilliant game of football and shaking hands with Paul Warne afterwards he agreed it was a great game to be involved with.

“I enjoyed it, I thought we were good for our money and probably deserved more than a point.

“I know they had a lot of chances as well, but I thought we were the better team personally.”

Lindsey, who returned to West Sussex in March after a five-month stint with the Dons, is happy for his club to be known as “little old Crawley” as they continue to punch above their weight.

He added: “Two of their players cost the same amount as all my XI, so I’m proud of the fact that we’re little old Crawley and that we’re up against it most weeks.

“The way we attacked that game we should be proud as supporters, staff, players and everyone involved in the club. We should all be proud of the performance.”