Miserable month ends with a fifth successive defeat for Bristol Rovers

Milton Keynes Dons 2 Bristol Rovers 1: Bristol Rovers' miserable October ended in much the same way that it started – with defeat away from home.

Yet there were at least signs that a losing sequence extended to five games in somewhat harsh fashion at stadium:mk could soon be ended.

During that bad run, the Pirates have been dismantled by probably the best two teams in the division in former Premier League clubs Norwich and Leeds.

In between, they somehow contrived to lose to Southend and Yeovil in games that should have seen them glean at least four points but for some slack defending and wasteful finishing.

The fact defeat No 5 came from what was in many ways probably the best performance of the bunch will be scant consolation to Rovers, who deserved to take something from a game snatched away from them over the closing 20 minutes.

When they found results going against them last autumn, manager Paul Trollope made a formational change by employing skipper Stuart Campbell in a deeper role in front of the back four.

It was a tactic he turned to again in a bid to stem the recent slide down the table, and for the most part it gave the visitors a more solid look as a defensive unit.

It also allowed them to look dangerous on the break with Jo Kuffour working hard as a solo front-runner while Andy Williams and Mark Wright offered a threat from the flanks.

Wright, back on familiar territory, produced probably his most effective performance yet for his new club, and Carl Regan – another Dons old boy – believes the five-man midfield can help to turn things around for Trollope's side.

"I thought we adapted well to it. We started working on it earlier in the week and the manager decided to go with it," said Regan.

"I think it worked well for the majority of the game and I like that formation a lot.

"It allows Stuart to get on the ball and start dictating the game, and maybe we'll see more of it in the future."

Though the home side had plenty of possession, they rarely posed much of a serious threat and Bristol Rovers had come the closest to scoring, twice hitting the goal-frame, before the Dons took the lead contentiously from the penalty spot in the 71st minute. Steve Elliott had nodded against the bar from a Campbell corner, and Kuffour did the same after the break from a Wright cross.

In between times, goalkeeper Willy Gueret denied both Williams and Dominic Blizzard, who saw an angled attempt pushed away after another Wright cross had flashed across goal just in front of Jeff Hughes.

Central defender Byron Anthony, up supporting the attack, fired into the side-netting from a decent opening created by Hughes before the home team were handed their breakthrough.

Steve Elliott was adjudged to have pushed Mathias Doumbe inside the box, and Peter Leven sent Mikkel Andersen the wrong way with the penalty kick.

"He was stretching for the header anyway and Steve gave him the slightest of nudges. On another day it wouldn't get given – but this time it did," said Regan.

"I thought we did well for the first 60 to 70 minutes but obviously the penalty changed things."

Rovers changed things too as the game wore on, both in terms of substitutes and formation, in a bid to get back on terms.

But the Dons looked in no mood to relinquish an advantage they had previously looked unlikely to forge, and added a second in the 89th minute as Rovers chased the game.

Leven pulled the ball back from the home side's right flank and Jason Puncheon provided a fine finish from 20 yards to beat Andersen.

Although substitute Chris Lines headed home from a Campbell corner deep into stoppage-time, there was not enough left on the clock to fuel realistic hopes of a Bristol Rovers comeback.

"It wasn't our day – on another occasion we'd have got a draw and maybe even nicked a win," said Regan.

"MK Dons are a good team and I think they are definitely going to be there or thereabouts at the end of the season – although we matched them for most of the game so it was disappointing to lose.

"We felt in the dressing room afterwards that things hadn't gone our way. But we've got a fortnight's break from the League now and, hopefully, we can get a win in the FA Cup to lift confidence ready for when we return to the League a week later."