MK Dons pick up first win under Paul Warne after beating Crewe

MK Dons collected their first win under Paul Warne’s management with a 1-0 win at Crewe Alexandra.

Scott Hogan scored the only goal of the game just before the half-hour mark, after he took advantage of an error by Crewe’s former MK Dons goalkeeper Filip Marschall.

With the Dons able to resist Crewe’s attempts at seeking an equaliser, it saw them pick up a first win in seven outings.

It also means that the Dons were able to confirm they would be staying in the fourth tier for next season, with the combination of their win and Carlisle drawing at Accrington Stanley ending any residual fears of MK Dons being relegated to the National League. With two games to go, the Dons sit 18th and are nine points above the bottom two.

A tight first half saw only a smattering of chances created between play-off chasing Crewe and the Dons, with Crewe’s Kane Hemmings seeing a shot dribble wide.

With 28 minutes on the clock, a decisive moment popped up. Marschall dallied when preparing to clear the ball, and his attempted bounced off the charging Hogan, who duly ran onto the loose ball and passed it home to put MK Dons in front.

Hogan and Jonathan Leko saw attempts blocked as the Dons tried to put daylight between themselves and the home side.

After half-time, Crewe saw Conor Thomas have a strike blocked before Hogan had a strike blocked after being played in by Leko.

Former Crewe loanee Joe White saw a strike bounce just wide before Hogan would see another strike blocked by a covering Crewe defender.

The hosts struggled to create chances but Crewe sub Joel Tabiner nearly found a way through for the Railwaymen when his free-kick bounced off the post.

Visiting sub Danilo Orsi missed an opportunity to seal the deal for the visitors with a late strike that just went wide, but MK Dons were able to Crewe at arms length and in the process take the three points.

Warne’s side will wrap up their season with games against Grimsby and Swindon in their final two assignments of the League Two campaign.