After a stalemate at Hillsborough, MK Dons and Sheffield Wednesday face off on a bitterly cold evening in the 22,000 capacity Stadium:MK. Earlier in the day Dons manager Karl Robinson had been approached by nPower Championship side Blackpool to become their new manager, a testament to the work he has done in League One where his team currently occupy 6th place. The Owls field a much changed side to their winning team against Hull as rotation is key in their battle against relegation. The groundsmen at Stadium:MK have used the undersoil heating for the first time to get this match underway as the nation is under a blanket of frost and snow. 
The first few minutes of the game is hard-fought and 2 free-kicks are conceded by the Dons in quick succession. First Dean Lewington is penalised for a foul on Wednesday right-back Lewis Buxton, then Alan Smith fouls Jose Semedo in a tense opening segment. Before the visitors can build any momentum though, Gary Madine concedes a foul on Gary MacKenzie and the Dons can build from the back. The games first shot comes on the 8th minute as Paul Corry fires wayward after finding space causing no concern for the home defence. The visitors suffer an early setback when after only 12mins influential winger Jermaine Johnson is substituted due to a back injury - Danny Mayor being his replacement. When the Dons don't take advantage of a Semedo handball awarded free-kick, Wednesday hit the ball upfield as Buxton searches for a striker but MacKenzie is there to clear the danger and when Semedo drops the ball back into the box, the referee blows his whistle seeing Miguel Llera all over MacKenzie. As the Owls attempt to break down the Dons resistance, a Nejc Pecnik corner ends with a David Martin save from Llera. Moments later and Corry is flashing a long range shot wide and a Williams block prevents Mayor opening the scoring on the 18th minute. Only 2mins later and Slovenian international Pecnik sees ex-Owl Jon Otsemebor block his shot at goal as Wednesday search for the first goal. As the Dons attack the much-changed opponents, only a Kieran Lee foul on Lewington can stop a good fluid move from midfield. MK Dons have started to edge the midfield battle now and a dangerous Lewington cross is just cut out by Martin Taylor before an onrushing Daniel Powell can attack the ball. Powell is in the thick of it again minutes later when Joe Mattock fouls the winger/forward and concedes a dangerous free kick that Williams flights in only for Madine to clear. As the half hour mark approaches, the referee is pointing at the penalty spot as Dean Bowditch has his shirt pulled by Buxton, leaving Williams to strike past Stephen Bywater and give the Dons a 1-0 lead. The visitors quickly go on the offensive and as Buxton whips a good cross in, Mayor lashes a wicked shot from just outside the area inches wide. Wanting to kill the game off, MK Dons push for a second and but for a Bywater save, Powell's 18 yard effort would have been just that. As the free kick count goes up, Alan Smith and Martin Taylor give away needless fouls in what's become a scrappy encounter. Dean Bowditch handles the ball and gives Wednesday a chance to get level - as Llera fires in a trademark attempt, Martin makes the save and the first man to react is another former Owl - Darren Potter, hacking clear. The yellow-clad visitors start to pressure the Dons back line with no come-back and Corry has two crosses cleared, a Buxton shot is saved by Martin, then Lewington blocks another Buxton effort before Pecnik flashes a driven shot wide and finally Martin makes a comfortable save from the Slovenian to see that the Dons somehow get into the break a goal to the good.
HT. A scrappy first half which is doing little to warm up the few spectators that have ventured out into the freezing evening. A quick check of twitter and a lot of numb Owls in Milton Keynes are not happy at their teams overall performance - 'sloppy', 'lacklustre', 'lazy' and 'useless' are the summary words that I'm able to copy into this report read by all ages!
Wednesday look to make a quick start to the second period and Otsemebor has to be on his toes to cut out a Semedo cross only 15 seconds in. However it's the hosts that come closest to scoring again when former Leeds United forward Smith swings an excellent cross into the box and Ryan Lowe - another former Wednesday player - heads harmlessly over the bar. Not taking their foot off the pedal, the Dons force 2 early corners - the first sees Williams' corner defended well and the second one by Bowditch is claimed by Bywater. Llera is called into action just a minute later when a whipped Bowditch free-kick needs clearing as Lowe prepares to attack the ball. Eager to change the way the game is going, Dave Jones replaces the misfiring Pecnik with Chris O'Grady after 53mins. The games first booking is a yellow card shown to Buxton for a foul on Bowditch and the resulting free kick sees the right back make amends with his clearance. The Dons are defending well and cutting out any advances on their goal but Mayor finds a small area of space and bends a shot just wide of the right-hand post. Kieran Lee is replaced by Michail Antonio in a bid to inject some urgency into the flailing Owls just after the hour mark but its the home team that step up again when a Williams corner results in a MacKenzie shot saved by Bywater. This sparks the Owls into life and they force 2 corners in quick succession that are both defended well, then Corry and Mattock see crosses cleared and when they do finally get past the Dons defence - Martin keeps out efforts by Mattock and then a volleyed shot by Corry. 74mins in and another name enters the referees book - Semedo sees yellow for a foul on Williams. Antonio has sparked some urgency into the Owls but when he beats a defender and breaks into the box, his fall and claim for a penalty are waved away. There's are goal celebrations minutes later though when Lewington is awarded a free-kick following a Mayor foul and Bowditch sees his free-kick somehow evade everybody in a packed box and drop into the bottom right of the goal. With just over 10mins left, the jubilant home team sense more goals can come their way and a Williams direct free-kick has to be dealt with. Llera then just manages a clearance from a dangerous Lewington cross before Buxton has to clear another free kick into the box. On the 85th minute Lowe has a chance to put one past his former employers but a timely Taylor block prevents the scoreline growing. The Wednesday defender is then called to block again, this time from Williams - conceding a corner in the process. Bywater comes out to claim the cross but no quick attack is in the offing and a foul by Antony Kay sees the former Barnsley man yellow carded. With the 90th minute looming, veteran Alan Smith commits his foul - this time on Antonio but still evades a booking somehow. MK Dons look to close the game out on top and a Williams cross finds Lowe 10 yards out but he somehow misses his kick and then a 35 yard Dele Ali shot is saved by Bywater. 
FT. A disappointing result for Wednesday, who miss out on a trip to Premier League opposition, but Championship survival has always been the number one priority. The Dons had the majority of the better play and possession - and over the 2 ties deserve their record breaking place in the next round.
Attendance: 6,782
Owls Man of the Match: Mattock
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