Hampton & Richmond continued their pre-season campaign with a 2-0 defeat to a full strength MK Dons side on a drizzly Tuesday evening. The score line somewhat flatters Mk Dons as Hampton created more clear-cut opportunities than their opposition but two Mk Dons goals in three minutes killed off the home side’s hopes of a result.

Sam Baldock capitalised on a mistake from Chico Ramos in the 61st minute to put his team 1-0 ahead before Luke Chadwick sealed victory in the 64th minute whilst Francis Quarm and Dave Tarpey both squandered excellent chances to get on the score sheet for Hampton.

After a scrappy opening five minutes, MK Dons new signing Jermaine Easter received the ball on the edge of the area before releasing a powerful, low drive towards the bottom left-hand corner that was well saved by Matt Lovett. The spritely Jamal Johnson was next to threaten Hampton's goal, slicing his shot wide from distance.

At the other end, the energetic play of Dave Tarpey was causing MK Dons problems and he found himself with space in the area but Darren Powell made a timely intervention before Tarpey could release his shot. Just a minute later, the ball fell kindly for Jamie Collins who couldn’t control the volley, blasting it high and wide.

Jermaine Easter then came close again, similarly to his effort earlier in the half, he struck the ball low and firmly but this time it flew just wide of the post. Easter was using his low centre of gravity to turn away from defenders whilst with his back to goal and again forced a good save from Lovett after good work from Chadwick.

Moments before the end of a quiet first half, MK Dons keeper Willy Gueret almost had a moment to forget when the speedy Dave Tarpey closed him down but Gueret did manage to clear, erratically booting the ball way and out of the ground.

The second half was a dramatic improvement on the first and it began with Hampton’s best chance of the game. Francis Quarm’s perfectly placed through ball released Dave Tarpey who, with a clear run on goal, curled his effort just wide of the post.

Hampton began the half in the ascendancy and it was Tarpey again creating problems, pouncing on a mistake in the area by the MK Dons defender and cutting the ball back, eventually finding Stuart Lake who smashed the ball against the near post from an angle. In the 52nd minute Hampton came close again when Ashley Smith whipped in a free kick from the right hand side and Ian Hodges connected with a header that looped over.

After Hampton’s encouraging start to the second half, MK Dons scored against the run of play. Dean Wells’ headed back pass looked comfortable for Chico Ramos to deal with but the ball slipped out of the substitute keeper’s arms, leaving striker Sam Baldock with an open goal to pass the ball into.
Before Hampton had a chance to recover, MK Dons scored again. Jermaine Easter found him-self with time on the ball in the area and played a neat through pass to Luke Chadwick who slotted the ball beneath Chico Ramos. Conceding two quick fire goals was a bitter blow for Hampton who had matched their league 1 opposition up to that point.

Alan Devonshire will be pleased with his side’s determination as they battled hard after falling behind and continued to create chances. The move of the match saw Quarm play a perfect one-two with substitute Lawrence Yaku that put him clean through on goal but the midfielder’s attempted chip fell straight into the keeper’s arms. MK Dons seemed to struggle with the offside trap at times and left-back Craig Tanner took advantage of this, latching on to a pass only to shoot straight at the keeper. MK Dons had the final chance of the game when neat footwork in the penalty area led to a shot at goal from Partridge but he sent his effort just over the bar.

Alan Devonshire and MK Dons boss Paul Ince were once team-mates at West Ham but they squared off against each other as managers in this game. Ince was victorious on this occasion but he will certainly admit that Dev’s men gave his team a really tough contest.

Hampton & Richmond Man of the Match: Dave Tarpey
Although he should have scored, Tarpey was a bundle of energy and worked his socks off for the team. Excellent performance