Martin Paterson disappointed with Notts County draw at MK Dons

Martin Paterson admitted he was left disappointed that his Notts County side could not find victory as they recorded a 1-1 League Two draw away to MK Dons.

Notts County took the lead in the 44th minute when Tom Iorpenda received Nick Tsaroulla’s pass and curled a strike into the bottom corner.

MK Dons equalised with 20 minutes of the game remaining as Callum Paterson thumped home the rebound after Rushian Hepburn-Murphy’s initial shot was saved by Kelle Roos.

A draw means that MK Dons remain one point ahead of Notts County, with the two sides sat fourth and sixth in the table at the halfway point of the season.

Reflecting after the game, Magpies’ head coach Paterson said he thought his side were the better team on the night and that he was disappointed not to see them take the points.

He said: “I think they’re a very good team where you look at their personnel and it’s a squad full of quality, depth as well.

“Maybe I could be wrong with rose-tinted glasses, but I watched the game and thought we shaded it comfortably.

“I thought we were in control. They had direct play to really good forwards, but I thought we controlled that really well and the way we played, especially first half, we should’ve gone in maybe 2-0 up with the header.

“We deserved our goal and then, if I’m brutally honest, we make an individual error that’s absolutely crazy from a throw-in that allows them to break. Kelle (Roos) makes a great save but it’s bundled in.

“I’m coming away really disappointed with only a point. I thought we should’ve won the game and minus a crazy individual decision, the game was there comfortably.”

MK Dons boss Paul Warne accepted his side had not played well enough to win, but felt a draw was fair.

He said: “My overall feeling was that I think we can play a lot better than that. Credit to Notts County, they made the game really difficult for us.

“I’ve said it in parts before but I don’t think we had enough personality on the ball tonight. But I thought the lads dug in second half, we were a bit more aggressive, won more duels and looked a bit more like us.

“When I spoke to the coaches and we looked at the stats, there wasn’t really anything in the game.

“I just wish we were a little bit more like ourselves. It’s my fault – I possibly should’ve made more changes and we just looked a bit jaded. We just didn’t look as zippy as normal.

“A point when you’re not playing well, I think we have to take that and move on.”