It was a 13-minute blitz from MK Dons that ultimately put this out of reach, with Marvin Ekpiteta and Aaron Collins getting the goals.

Aaron Drinan did pull one back before half-time to launch an attempted comeback, but it was not to be.

So, how did the players fare as individuals at Stadium MK?

GK: Connor Ripley – 5

Outside of the two goals, Ripley was left with a handful of routine saves to make. Mistakes were made elsewhere, but you could argue that he could have done better for the Collins goal when he left his near post open.

RCB: James Ball – 6

Ball was part of a mix-up that led to the second goal, but Elijah Campbell’s pass that beat him was so good as to excuse the error. It seemed like he responded to being sacrificed last week, and wanted to get up and help Joel McGregor. That desire led to the nonsense that created the goal.

CB: Stefan Negru – 5

It took the back three a while to get to grips with Sam Nombe and Collins, who seemed to know where the blind spots were in the defence. Once Town cottoned on to that, Negru led a back three that seemed far more organised.

LCB: Dan Butler – 4

It appeared that MK Dons wanted to attack the outside of Butler as much as possible, and that made his life difficult. Nombe escaped his attention a few times too many.

James Ball turns Cohen Bramall of MK Dons (Image: Focus Images)

RWB: Joel McGregor – 6

McGregor was not the only one who seemed to have listened to The Clash pre-match, but he was the one punished for not knowing whether he should stay or go. It was the runs he made outside of Campbell that got Town back into the game, as he became the outlet.

CM: Jack Thomson – 6

It is just not a surprise anymore when Thomson rocks up and looks comfortable. MK Dons wanted to pull Town around, but he was able to cover the ground and stop Alex Gilbey from destroying them once again.

CM: Anthony Munda – 5

It was an up-and-down afternoon for Munda, who sometimes was outmuscled, but others was able to scamper around and disrupt MK Dons. His role ended up being primarily defensive, as he needed to hold the fort.

LWB: Mitch Clark – 5

Playing on the left did not seem to interrupt Clark’s desire to hare around like he is on fire and making his mark at both ends. In a match when Swindon had precious few clear chances, he never really found the quality out wide.

Mitch Clark challenging for the ball with Jack Sanders (Image: Focus Images)

RAM: Matty Virtue – 6

After taking a while to come to the boil, it feels like Virtue is really bubbling away. It turns out that even at League One level, defenders cannot see him when he turns into Sue Storm and saunters into space in behind.

LAM: Joe Snowdon – 6

The return from injury has been a slow one so far, but this game felt more like Snowdon. His heat map would have been all over the pitch, as, in the first half especially, he was demanding the ball and getting the paints out to get creative.

ST: Aaron Drinan – 7

The battle of Drinan against Charlie Goode was very exciting. For a while, it seemed like he could read Drinan’s mind, and he tracked his every movement, until he started giving him red herrings, and got free and started to become a real force.

Aaron Drinan shoots at the Milton Keynes Dons goal (Image: Focus Images)

Substitutes:

Tom Nichols – 7

The one-man effort to stop Aaron Collins and Ben Wiles as they broke out from a long throw was terrific. That is what experience gives you, those two should have been able to sachet away from him, but he worked back and blocked what was a certain goal.

Kaelan Majekodunmi – 5

After coming on, Majekodunmi was probably used as much as a set-piece threat as a defender, with Town searching for the winner.

Ollie Palmer – 5

It was after this double substitution was made that Swindon looked more dangerous, as Jaylan Pearman and he dropped into the space that Drinan had created, and probed away.

Jaylan Pearman – 5

The main positive for Pearman was just that he looked less panicked. The passes into him were often not perfect, but he was intent on making his mark, and looked like someone who can help this team.

Louis Millard – N/A