MK Dons 1-0 Charlton: Dean Bowditch seals hard-fought win

Dean Bowditch scored the only goal of the game as MK Dons came out of a contest between two Sky Bet Championship teams desperately short of form with a 1-0 victory at home to Charlton Athletic.

The three points will come as some relief for the Dons, who had not scored in their previous three matches, all defeats, as it takes them four points clear of the bottom three.

Charlton, meanwhile, are firmly entrenched in the relegation zone after their 11th league game without a win and their fifth without a goal, and in truth they provided little threat as their season took another turn for the worse.

The hosts came into Tuesday night's match with only four points from their previous 10 games and looked to Nicky Maynard, making just his second start for them, to provide a change of luck up front.

It was Charlton who came close in the seventh minute when Dons goalkeeper David Martin did well to push a superb long-range effort by Jordan Cousins around the post.

The visitors' man between the sticks, Stephen Henderson, was left red-faced when he fumbled Josh Murphy's free-kick but recovered before Matthew Upson could pounce.

MK Dons ended their goal drought, which had extended to over five hours, after 29 minutes as Bowditch played the ball out to the right to Samir Carruthers before accepting his return pass and stroking a shot into the bottom corner.

Tony Watt dragged a shot wide for Charlton as their own long run without a goal went on and they went into half-time unable to provide any more of a threat before the break.

Early in the second half, Maynard had a great chance to double the Dons' lead when put through one-on-one by Carruthers, but his finish lacked conviction as Henderson parried it away.

Maynard was then denied again by Henderson after cutting in from the right, before Bowditch sent a powerful strike from a narrow angle against the post.

Henderson then tipped over Carruthers' shot from the edge of the area as MK Dons built up the pressure with Watt sending a rare shot from the Addicks straight down Martin's throat.

Murphy shot into the side netting from a very narrow angle as the hosts looked to make the game safe and seal an all-too-rare victory.

Patrick Bauer almost had hearts in mouths among the home fans as he had a header from Johann Berg Gudmundsson's corner blocked right in front of Martin.

Charlton were forced to end the game with 10 men after Gudmundsson limped off after they had made their three substitutions and the Dons saw out the eight minutes that were added on.

MK Dons manager Karl Robinson said: 

"I thought we were outstanding. It's just a bit disappointing as we should have had a convincing victory. The boys have done well to create as many chances as they did and we need to take them.

"They're all good players and they put a right good show on today and I can't ask any more. There was a little bit of nervous energy around the place, but it takes us four points clear of the drop zone, which is a nice cushion to have."

Charlton interim manager Karel Fraeye said:

"I'm concerned with the lack of chances we created, but the Dons only created their chances after we took a lot of risks and we gave them a lot of space.

"We need to get a win as soon as possible to turn this bad run around. It's very, very hard but it's a long season and we came here for the win, we showed that from the beginning."