Karl Robinson felt Salford unfortunate to lose against former club MK Dons

Salford manager Karl Robinson believes his side were the better team despite succumbing to a 3-1 loss to MK Dons.

Matt Smith had put the visitors ahead early on only for the Dons to turn the game on its head as Kyran Lofthouse, Alex Gilbey and Emre Tezgel all netted in a frantic first half.

After the break, both sides were more sedate, but Robinson believes the better-performing side were not rewarded with the points.

“I felt that for a large part of that first half, we were by far the better team and second half, they did not have a shot on target,” Robinson said.

“You can clearly see it’s a better performance from us, but the result is the only thing that matters.

“We need to win. That’s a habit and is something expected of you by the football club, so we need to win.”

Smith bundled home a rebound to see Salford into the lead in the 12th minute before Lofthouse equalised 15 minutes later as he found the bottom corner.

Gilbey put the hosts ahead with a perfectly placed chip from just outside the box, and the comeback was completed before the first half was through as Tezgel’s header was deflected in by Smith.

Robinson bemoaned a missed penalty shout but also acknowledged his side’s lack of discipline as they failed to win for the fourth game in a row.

He added: “I don’t think they were good enough to beat us by 3-1.

“I feel that we were by far the better team for 20-25 minutes, but I thought we just went completely rogue in our lack of shape and discipline. We had stern words at half-time.

“The penalty the referee missed in the first half is unbelievable. It’s a clear elbow into the player’s face after getting contact with the football.

“It’s OK having a go at the referee but we then made stupid mistakes. It just seems at this moment in time that when things go a little down and flat, they revert to type, being open and not great on transitions.”

For MK Dons, the victory sees them sit just two points off the automatic promotion places in fourth.

Head coach Mike Williamson said: “The boys found a way, which is the important thing, especially at this stage.

“We didn’t start too well and if I’m being honest, I was furious at half-time.

“But the boys disarmed that because they came in and they were angry and were digging each other out.

“We were tired and we can’t allow that to happen, but the scoreline’s 3-1 at half-time and that just emphasises the quality that we’ve got and some of our play when we get it right.”