Alex Gilbey: MK Dons got sucked into 'ugly match' at Wimbledon, says midfielder

Alex Gilbey was among 12 players booked in the game against AFC Wimbledon

MK Dons midfielder Alex Gilbey says they allowed themselves to get sucked into an "ugly match" following defeat at arch-rivals AFC Wimbledon.

Ronan Curtis' stoppage-time strike gave the home side victory in a game in which 12 players received yellow cards.

MK Dons remain fifth in League Two, five points below the top two, before Tuesday's trip to leaders Mansfield.

"I don't think he would have scored if he'd had 10 more goes at it," Gilbey told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"They were throwing a lot of bodies forward and we got caught out, which is really poor from us considering the time in the game.

"When you come to these type of places, they know they've got to stop you physically."

MK Dons won 3-1 when the two sides met at Stadium MK earlier in the season.

"I think after what happened last time, they knew they had to turn it into an ugly game of football. I think with the amount of ability and quality we've got in the changing room, we need to not get sucked into that," Gilbey added.

He described the post-match mood in the dressing room as "the lowest I've seen it".

"I know how much the fans are hurting because I'm hurting just as much," he said.

"It's the one the lads want to win - we want to do it for the fans."

Gilbey expects a positive response from the team at Mansfield in what he expects to be a very different type of match.

"I think it will be two teams that want to play football and not just beat people up," he added.

"We'll go there on Tuesday excited and wanting to put things right. For the fans that travel up, we owe them a performance."

MK Dons boss Mike Williamson said there had been "plenty of hostility" from the home fans but that it "was just football".

"Our in-possession stuff wasn't as good as it could have been, but they had to stand up to a lot of balls into the box, a lot of throw ins and free-kicks," Williamson added.

"We had to defend with strength and put bodies on the line and we did that.

"Football can come down to moments, we missed a chance and they went up the other end and scored and that's as brutal as it can be."