MK Dons 1 – 5 Crawley

Crawley blew MK Dons away for the second time in a matter of days as a 5-1 victory at Stadium MK – and an 8-1 win on aggregate – took them to the Sky Bet League Two play-off final.

Scott Lindsey’s side had established a 3-0 first-leg lead in West Sussex on Tuesday – and that was extended to 5-0 within the first half-hour in Buckinghamshire, courtesy of Jay Williams and Danilo Orsi.

Max Dean volleyed in to pull one back for the hosts, but the two-goal cushion on the night was restored by Orsi after slick build-up between Klaidi Lolos and Liam Kelly.

Dean saw a penalty well-saved by Reds goalkeeper Corey Addai, before Jack Roles came off the bench to smash in a fourth, shortly after he had crashed a shot off the left-hand post.

Orsi then turned in a Ronan Darcy cross in second-half stoppage time to complete his hat-trick and round off a thoroughly one-sided affair.

Crawley will face Crewe at Wembley on Sunday May 19 – live on Sky Sports Football – with a place in Sky Bet League One at stake.

How Crawley ripped MK Dons to shreds

Only once has a deficit of three goals or more been successfully overturned in play-off history – when Sheffield Wednesday beat Peterborough last season – so MK Dons boss Mike Williamson called for “relentless” attacking from his players to turn the game in their favour.

Three minutes in, the difficulty of their task was cranked up a notch when Williams stormed forward from midfield, pinched the ball from Alex Gilbey and squeezed a shot into the bottom left corner under pressure.

MK enjoyed spells of possession after that, but they were passive with it and so it came as little surprise when Crawley – who looked like the home side – established a 5-0 aggregate lead with Orsi taking advantage of Dan Harvie’s misjudging of a bounce and firing in his 22nd goal in all competitions this season.

In first-half stoppage-time, Dean volleyed in to halve the deficit on the night after a lapse in concentration at the back, though there were question marks over whether he should have even been still on the pitch after appearing to stamp on Williams earlier in the half.

Two minutes into the second half, Crawley had restored their two-goal cushion on the night in style, with Klaidi Lolos threading the ball to Liam Kelly, who squared for Orsi to nonchalantly roll in his second of the night. The shouts of ‘ole’ could be heard from the away section by this point.

MK then won a penalty when Kelly was adjudged to have handled Ellis Harrison’s cross, but Dean was unable to beat Corey Addai, who dived to his right to bat the spot-kick away.

As the hosts’ energy began to wane, Roles tried to catch them out with an early shot that hit the post after the slightest of touches from goalkeeper Filip Marschall, but he did manage to put one away shortly afterwards, taking charge after Orsi had held the ball up.

And it got even better for the ruthless Reds, as Orsi bundled in to complete his treble on an incredibly memorable night.

What’s next?

Crawley advance to the Sky Bet League Two play-off final, where they will face Crewe at Wembley on Sunday May 19, live on Sky Sports Football.

MK Dons will remain in the fourth tier for the 2024/25 campaign.