Dons prevail in season opener

Dan Gardner was on target for Athletic

Athletic made a losing start to life back in the fourth tier as visiting MK Dons completed a 2-1 victory at Boundary Park.

Dan Gardner struck for the hosts, but by that time the hosts were already two behind.

New boss Frankie Bunn made seven changes from the side which drew the final game of last season to condemn Athletic to League Two football this time around, and it was the Dons who struck first.

In front of nearly 5,000 supporters at Boundary Park, the Dons, who joined Athletic in being relegated from League One at the end of last term, were handed the perfect opportunity to put their noses in front.

One of those making their Oldham league debuts was to blame, as Giles Coke hauled down George Williams inside the penalty box, leaving the referee little option but to point to the spot.

Kieran Agard didn’t mess about with the penalty, drilling it past Daniel Iversen to give the visitors a ninth-minute lead.

That would be doubled soon afterwards as Agard turned provider for Ryan Harley, who converted a smart cross at the far-post with less than a quarter of the game played.

It left Athletic will all the work to do to claim something from their opening game of the season, and they were given hope just before half-time.

Debutant Ishmael Miller’s good build-up play allowed him to lay the ball to Dan Gardner, with the midfielder lashing home from 20 yards to half MK Dons’ lead.

Despite Athletic pressing for a leveller for much of the second half, they couldn’t find another way to goal and suffered their first defeat of the season.

Next up for Athletic is a trip to Forest Green Rovers on Saturday.

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