MK Irish faced a tough challenge in their latest preseason friendly, succumbing to a 1-3 defeat against step 4 side AFC Dunstable.
The match began ina rapid fashion with the visitors opening the scoring inside the first three minutes. A ball played in behind the Irish defence led to a 3-on-2 situation. Irish quickly managed to get men back, the Dunstable forward danced past two defenders and fired across the returning Owusu into the bottom corner, making it 0-1.
Irish looked to respond quickly, with Shrieves posing a constant threat down the right, linking up well with Ryan Smith. Despite this, Dunstable were largely in control of possession, limiting Irish’s chances.
Dunstable continued to push for a second goal. A shot from the edge of the box was saved by a largely unsighted Owusu, then a looping cross/shot hit the top of the bar and back out. From that, Shrieves then had a chance straight up the other end, cutting inside past two defenders, but his shot lacked power and rolled through to the keeper.
Irish found their equalizer when Ryan Smith linked up brilliantly with Shrieves, who had timed his run to perfection and smashed the ball across the keeper into the net, levelling the game. Unfortunately, this was the last action for the ever-dangerous Shrieves, who went down shortly after scoring, with Callum Hirst coming on as his replacement.
Dunstable retook the lead five minutes before halftime. A corner wasn’t fully cleared, and a Dunstable player’s scuffed volley fell fortuitously to a teammate, who turned and fired into the net from close range, restoring the visitors lead.
Irish pushed for another equalizer before the break, with new signing Bruno Brito coming closest with a tame effort straight at the keeper. Right on the stroke of halftime there was a moment of controversy. A lofted ball into the box by Brooks was claimed by the keeper, who then landed on Brito and dropped the ball. Brito looked to have an empty net to roll the ball into, but the referee quickly blew his whistle for a foul on the keeper.
HALF TIME: MK Irish 1-2 AFC Dunstable
The second half saw AFC Dunstable line up with an entirely new XI, showcasing their squad depth. The visitors continued to control large parts of possession, but Irish’s pressing caused some panic when they won the ball back on the edge of the Dunstable box, and Brito attempted to lob the keeper but sent it over the bar.
Irish came close again when Ryan Smith saw a darting run down the left from Elijah West, who drove into the box but fired just wide. West was involved again, playing a lovely ball over the top to Smith, who was caught up by a Dunstable defender. Smith turned back away from goal, swivelled, and shot, but a defender on the line cleared the attempt.
Dunstable had their first big chance of the second half with a cutback to the six-yard box, but Owusu reacted well to save. Irish kept attacking, with Ryan Smith playing a ball through to Ollie Coleman that was cut out by a defender. Coleman didn’t give up and nipped in to quickly steal the ball and looked to be through on goal before the defender pulled him back, stopping any attempt on goal. The resulting free kick was taken by new signing Hunt but he sent it over the bar.
New signing David Sarpong then came close with a curling effort going just wide. Dunstable then played a ball in behind, but Owusu saved comfortably from the forward’s shot. Ryan Smith then had another chance, picking up the ball following a poor clearance, cutting inside past two men, and firing low and hard, but it was inches wide of the post.
Dunstable had a late corner, played it short and delivered dangerously to the back post, but nobody could convert.
With five minutes remaining, Irish were made to pay for their missed chances. A lobbed ball in behind was latched onto by the Dunstable forward, who fired in at the near post, sealing a 1-3 victory for the visitors.
FULL TIME: MK Irish 1-3 AFC Dunstable
Goal scorer: George Shrieves
Up next for the Irish is a trip to Thame Rangers on Tuesday, before a big clash as we welcome Luton Town to Manor Fields on Saturday 20th July.
You can secure your tickets for the Luton Town game now by clicking here.
