NEIL Danns was down in the dumps after missing a late penalty at Swansea City the previous weekend, but he didn't take long to extinguish that bad memory against MK Dons.

By Carl Marston

NEIL Danns was down in the dumps after missing a late penalty at Swansea City the previous weekend, but he didn't take long to extinguish that bad memory against MK Dons.

Former Blackburn Rovers midfielder Danns rammed home his fifth goal of the campaign, after just 13 minutes, to pave the way for a 2-0 win.

“This goal has come at the right time for me. I'm always pleased to score, but this one has lifted a weight off my shoulders following the penalty miss from the previous week,” admitted Danns.

“They are the sort of goals that I score all the time in training. It was a great ball from Kevin (Watson). He put the ball on a plate for me, and I thank him for that.

“I steadied myself and benefited from a good first touch. We are really buzzing as a club at the moment, and we even have the bragging rights in Essex now, having climbed above Southend this weekend.

“We should have gone on to sew up this game in the second-half. We had lots of chances, but in the end I thought that it might be one of those games when the opposition nicked a late goal.

“When MK Dons went down to 10 men, we lost our rhythm a bit. They played better with 10 men. They seemed to have more impetus, but we managed to keep our shape.

“Having missed the penalty at Swansea, I allowed Chris (Iwelumo) to take the one today. I was never going to take a penalty this week.

“I don't want Chris to miss one, but I'll be waiting in the wings, and when he does miss a penalty, I'll step up again,” added Danns.

Iwelumo slotted home his 13th goal of the season, with a cleanly struck penalty in the fourth and last minute of injury-time. The former Stoke and Brighton striker actually believed that the 2-0 scoreline slightly flattered the U's.

“We'll take the 2-0 win, but I don't think it was the right result,” insisted Iwelumo. “We took a step back following the sending-off. We needed to keep the tempo up. The Dons came at us hell-for-leather in the second half, especially after going down to 10 men. They did well.

“I've got nine goals in 10 games, and I'm happy with this. I had other chances to score, and I should have done better with my header in the second-half. Their keeper pulled off some terrific saves.

“Most of the lads looked on the 1-1 draw at Swansea as a disappointment. We had missed a chance to record nine straight wins, but at least we are back to winning ways very quickly.

“December is a long month with a lot of games. We have started it very well, and we want that to continue,” added Iwelumo.