Having a dedicated group of fans that have travelled long distances and showing their dedicated support across is vital, and something MK Dons have had all season.
This has been recently highlighted by the Dons being backed by 1,028 travelling fans against fellow promotion hopefuls Cambridge United.
When a team is up against it in a hostile away atmosphere, that away following can make all the difference, helping their team to dig in and scrap for vital points.
The Dons have been backed a loyal and devoted group for the entire campaign, however three away trips in particular have shown this unbelievable commitment.
The players hearing the away end in full voice gives them something to fight for, as MK Dons striker Aaron Collins puts it, ‘I want to go on and score for them, and give them something to cheer about’.
MK Dons travelled to Harrogate Town in December, on a bitterly cold and foggy day. As well as being a 163 mile trip, it also took place just 5 days before Christmas Day.
Despite all of this, 318 Dons still made the trip, an unbelievable away following taking all factors into account.
This group were in full voice for the entire 90 minutes, despite an obstructed view of the pitch and also such thick fog making it difficult to see the opposite end at The Exercise Stadium.
Luckily for this group making the seven hour round trip, they were rewarded with a 4-0 victory against the league two strugglers.
Braces from both Aaron Collins and Alex Gilbey ensured a comfortable win, much to the delight of the away support, making one of their longest away trips of the season, in such terrible conditions
The Dons found themselves at Blundell Park in late January to face Grimsby Town, a team scrapping for a playoff place, who went into the game on the back of five wins in a row.
The 173 mile trip to Cleethorpes was only worsened by the game being selected for Sky Sports TV coverage, moving the game to 12:30pm.
The supporters made their frustrations known but were in good spirits regardless of their seven hour round trip beginning early in the morning.
Despite unreasonably prices trains and the early start, 284 Dons still made their way to the seaside town, making a racket in another restricted view away end.
They saw their team battle it out in a 2-2 draw, hanging on for the final 20. Despite their nerves, the noise never died down, showing their support for shift their players has just put in.
Another game moved for TV coverage, this time kicking off at 8pm on a Monday night, saw the Dons travel to the West Midlands to face Walsall.
Weekday night games are difficult for any fan to attend, often ending up being more expensive and affecting other commitments. Regardless, 485 away fans made the trip, resulting in one of the Dons’ loudest away ends of the season.
Despite their commitment, the game was short on quality, on an even worse quality pitch. Wigan Athletic loanee Jon Mellish poked home late on to secure a 2-0 victory and silence the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium, sending the away end into raptures.
After the game Mellish appreciated the travelling support, saying, ‘they’ve come in their numbers again’.
The Dons still have some tricky and long distance away games to come in their remaining seven games.
This includes trips to teams scrapping for playoff spots like Oldham Athletic and Crewe Alexandra. Regardless of the occasion, Paul Warne’s side will be backed by a large away following, a huge boost in the automatic promotion race.
MK Dons will need their usual away support for this difficult end of season run as players do notice them with defender Joe Tomlinson saying, ‘we really appreciate all their support’.
The Dons travel to Salford City at 3pm on Saturday, having already sold more than 500 tickets to face sixth place. MK Dons currently sit in second, ahead of a game that could have huge ramifications in the fight to reach league one.
