MK Dons and Ipswich Town couldn’t be separated as the played out an entertaining stalemate at Stadium:MK.

For large parts of the game, The Tractor Boys were the better side but The Dons had the better of the chances through Hiram Boateng and then Scott Twine.

Wes Burns had a couple of decent chances for Ipswich but the goalless draw was probably the fairest result.

  • Story of the game

More than 6,800 Ipswich fans packed out the away end behind the goal and made Stadium:MK feel more like Portman Road.

But it was the actual hosts who made the brighter start, seeing plenty of the ball with Theo Corbeanu flashing an effort past the post after just three minutes.

Town then had their first chance of the afternoon - on the counter attack.

Bersant Celina slipped in Wes Burns who fired over the top, but it signalled the start of a good spell for Kieran McKenna’s side.

Celina himself then tested the hands of Jamie Cumming from range, and everything going forward for Ipswich went through him.

Embed from Getty Images

The former Manchester City man found himself in space between the MK midfield and defence, before sliding the ball into Kayden Jackson who forced a good save from Cumming.

Five minutes before half time, MK had their best chance of the half through Corbeanu.

McEachran won the ball inside Ipswich’s half and the Canadian saw his deflected effort saved by Christian Walton.

Then, moments later, he worked well down the right side to stand the ball up for Scott Twine, whose acrobatic volley was deflected over the bar.

Ipswich started the second the better of the two sides with plenty of possession inside The Dons’ half.

Burns was set free by Tyreeq Bakinson down the right hand side and his low drive was deflected agonisingly past the post.

A small flurry of corners followed but the hosts dealt with that threat well, but Town were by far the better side.

Celina put a teasing ball across the six yard box from one set piece that somehow missed everyone in blue in the middle.

At the other end, Troy Parrott failed to catch a volley the way he would have liked, forcing Walton into a routine save.

The game became a lot more open in the final half an hour, with both teams looking to utilise their quickness on the break.

But more passes started to go astray, and chances remained at a premium.

Conor Chaplin fired a long range effort wide as the visitors stayed in control of possession but still weren’t mustering much in front of goal.

Both managers made personnel and system changes, and Ipswich upped the ante as the final 15 minutes approached.

Burns’ flat delivery forced Cumming to punch it clear and the ball just wouldn’t drop for Morsy to get a shot away.

Still, the visitors pressed and won a corner in the final through minutes as the pair of substitutes MacAuley Bonne and James Norwood linked up to win a corner.

But, it was a home substitution in Hiram Boateng who came closest to winning it with a left-footed volley that had to pushed away by Walton.

Connor Wickham then won his side a corner which wasn’t cleared before Twine won a free kick in stoppage time, which Walton pushed away for a corner, which came to nothing.

It didn't quite live up to the 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture earlier this season, but still showed the quality of the two teams rightfully pushing for promotion this season. 

MK Dons stay third in League One, while Ipswich stay ninth.

MK Dons:

Cumming; Lewington, Darling, O’Hora; Watson, Coventry, McEachran, Harvie; Corbeanu, Twine; Parrott.

Substitutions: Boateng, Wickham.

Ipswich Town.

Walton; Edmondson, Woolfenden, Donacien; Thompson, Bakinson, Morsy, Celina, Chaplin, Burns; Jackson.

Substitutions: Norwood, Bonne, Aluko.