Bradley Johnson for Derby and Josh Murphy for MK Dons traded goals after the break and the two sides, in their first ever competitive meeting, were level heading into the final five minutes.
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The East Midlands club nearly threw away the game in the final moments after Carson’s punch nearly went into his own goal but Andreas Weimann cleared off the line.
“They players have got to pick themselves up and respond in the right way and I know they will”.
Dons were, however, left to lament a wasteful afternoon in front of goal – only four of their 26 efforts hit the target – as Bent won it in the 89th minute and Tom Ince added a stoppage-time third. “That’s hard to take physically and mentally so we did have that slight extra recovery time”.
It is hoped Tom Ince will also return to the squad after the winger missed Monday night’s goalless home draw with Burnley with a knee knock sustained in training last weekend.
Their first-half display at Milton Keynes on Saturday is best forgotten and this after talk pre-match had been about displaying high intensity from the kick off.
Coverage of the Sky Bet Championship fixture begins at 12pm, with kick-off at stadiummk half an hour later.
“The iPro has been virtually full every home game, and the fans have really supported the team but I have got to say I have been really, really impressed with the away support”, said Clement.
Church was again denied from close range but it was Carson this time who proved the difference before Ince played through Martin and saw his low shot well parried.
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“Our objective is simple, we want to go there and win”. It’s easy when you’re winning, but when you play the way that we play and you’re on a bad run it takes a lot of bravery to play the same way that we do.
