GRIMSBY Town were narrowly beaten by promotion favourites Milton Keynes Dons despite a determined second half display at Blundell Park.

After the euphoria of Tuesday night's aggregate victory over Morecambe, the Mariners were brought back down to earth as their Wembley opponents controlled the first half and grabbed the only goal of the game through Sean O'Hanlon.

Paul Ince's Dons could have had more before the break as Town struggled to make an impact through the attacking pairing of Peter Bore and Peter Till.

They were replaced for the second half and the new combination of Gary Jones and Martin Butler proved the catalyst for a spirited second half performance as Town ran the league leaders close.

Rob Atkinson almost levelled with a header in the early stages after the restart and Nick Fenton also went close but the best chance fell to Butler, who headed wide with seconds remaining.

Town must now hope results go their way when the rest of the League two fixtures are played tomorrow as they look to stay in the play-off picture ahead of Tuesday's home game against Barnet.

Alan Buckley made one change to the team that secured the Wembley trip on Tuesday.

Danny North was ruled out through injury so Bore was given a chance to impress in his place in attack.

Phil Barnes continued in goal, while Jamie Clarke, Atkinson, Nick Fenton, Tom Newey and Nick Hegarty made up the usual five-man defence.

The midfield was also unchanged, with Paul Bolland, Danny Boshell and James Hunt in the centre of the park.

Bore was joined in attack by Till, giving the Mariners frontline a very pacy look.

Grimsby's substitutes were Gary Montgomery, Justin Whittle, Gary Jones, Martin Butler and Ryan Bennett.

Paul Ince brought his Milton Keynes outfit to Cleethorpes with the aim of ending the night back on top of the league two table.The Dons have led the way for most of the season but were overtaken by Peterborough United in midweek.

Men to watch in the Dons team would include pacy wingers Lloyd Dyer and Jemel Johnson, as well as ex-Wolves midfielder Colin Cameron.

Town would be looking to inch closer to the play-off positions with a win, which would put pressure on other clubs who are due to play tomorrow.

Grimsby had the first opportunity to attack on three minutes when Till and Hegarty combined o the edge of the area.Hegarty advanced into the box but was blocked as he shaped to shoot.

Newey had to clear a low cross from Cameron soon afterwards before Bore was caught offside as he looked to get onto the end of a high ball from Hegarty.

Town were guilty of giving the ball away too often in the opening minutes of the game as long passes failed to find their targets, while their opponents were keeping the ball well, looking to find their wingers and getting crosses into the box.

Milton Keynes won the first corner of the evening and with it came the opening goal.The kick was whipped into the danger zone and SEAN O'HANLON was there to direct the ball towards goal.

Newey was back but he couldn't clear the ball before it crossed the line and the small travelling support from Buckinghamshire celebrated as referee Darren Deadman signalled the goal, which came after nine minutes.

John Miles combined with Cameron on the edge of the Town box seven minutes later as the away side continued to dominate the game but this time, the shot from Miles lacked any power and it was easily cleared by Newey.

Town won a throw level with the penalty line and when Bolland was fouled, a free kick was given.Newey's delivery was poor and Milton Keynes keeper Willy Gueret didn't have to do much work as he easily caught the ball.

With 20 minutes on the clock, the Mariners were yet to make their mark on the game as they struggled to put attacks together or keep possession.The Dons, by contrast, were looking comfortable and well worth their one-goal lead.

Five minutes later, Boshell was brought down by Cameron just inside the Dons half after Town had put a few passes together.Hunt's free kick found Fenton, who flicked on to Bore but the youngster couldn't get the necessary power or direction to trouble Gueret.

Another good possession sequence moments later led to Fenton making a driving run from halfway.He lost the ball before going on to win it back before finding Till, who had switched to a right wing position.

Till in turn found Hegarty on the opposite flank but his cross went behind for a goal kick.

Hegarty won a free kick when he was fouled by Jordan Hatfield left of centre and about 45 yards from goal.The move from it saw Clarke hit a long, deep cross to Hegarty but from a narrow angle, the winger couldn't beat Gueret.

After a quiet opening 20 minutes, Town were now showing signs of life and for the first time, were looking like getting back into the game.The Mariners were still not able to work the opposition keeper though and the three Dons centre backs were also largely untroubled.

Newey won a free kick with 40 minutes gone when he was fouled by Cameron.This time, Boshell sent the ball into the box but play was stopped for an infringement against Atkinson.

Milton Keynes had their second corner two minutes later when a cross from regan was cut out by Fenton.This time there was no damage as the Mariners managed to clear.Hunt won a challenge inside the Dons half and gave the ball to Hegarty but again, his cross was poor.

Soon afterwards, Miles found himself through on goal but Barnes saved the shot, diving to his right to keep the score at 1-0 as one minute of added time was signalled.

Dons manager Paul Ince would have been disappointed to be only going in at the break one goal to the good and in fairness, they probably deserved more.

Grimsby had shown some signs of promise as the half went on but overall, the side looking to top the table had shown why they are amongst the favourites for automatic promotion.

Milton Keynes looked comfortable throughout the half, grabbing the early goal and then looking to keep the ball and patiently build up their attacks as the Mariners tried to rush things.

Alan Buckley would have some work to do during the break to motivate his side and help them find more as the busy programme of recent fixtures appeared to be catching up with them somewhat.

The Mariners boss made two changes before the restart, swapping the frontline of Bore and Till that had been ineffective throughout the first half and replacing them with two big men in the shape of Martin Butler and Gary Jones.

Town started well, with the changes up front adding the strength and experience, and they were almost level when Atkinson stooped to head narrowly wide from an early corner.

The home side were putting much more pressure on their high-flying opponents now and were looking far brighter after Buckley's half-time team talk.The crowd responded to the pressure, getting behind the team as they looked to level the scores.

After the initial flurry of Town attacks, the Dons began to get more of the ball and they started to look threatening through the skilful Johnson.

He almost doubled their lead on 53 minutes, beating Fenton before lashing against the side netting from 20 yards.

Jones was challenged from behind by O'Hanlon on 58 minutes, in a central position and 25 yards from goal.Clarke chipped the free kick over the wall but saw the effort drop wide.

Paul Ince made his first change straight afterwards, sending Aaron Wilbraham on in place of Hatfield.

Bolland was crudely stopped in his tracks by a high tackle from Alan Navarro as he looked to run into the area on 64 minutes.Newey took the resulting free kick but he fired well over from a promising position 25 yards out.

A long ball forward soon afterwards saw Jones chasing to try and win a corner.All he got was a yellow card though, for a challenge from behind on Danny Swailes.

Milton Keynes won a corner on 68 minutes and Cameron's kick found O'Hanlon but his flick-header from 10 yards cleared the bar.

The visitors made their second substitution when Jake Livermore replaced Dyer moments later.

Atkinson had to make a good block on 72 minutes when a quick counter-attack led to Johnson finding space inside the Town penalty area.The Barnsley loanee stepped in and diverted the shot for a corner.

Grimsby's final substitution saw Ryan Bennett come on for Hunt, with the youngster lining up at right back and Clarke moving to the centre of midfield.

Bolland was penalised for a foul on Dyer when it looked as if the Dons man had fallen over the ball on 77 minutes.Cameron took the free kick from a dangerous position but his low delivery was cleared by Atkinson.

Bennett blocked a Johnson cross two minutes later for another corner.This time, Cameron's far-post flag-kick was punched away by Barnes.

Milton Keynes were beginning to get on top again despite Town's much-improved second half showing and the Buckinghamshire side registered another shot on target when Barnes got down to stop a long-range effort from Wilbraham.

Newey had to concede a corner after Dean Lewington had twisted and turned his way into a position to cross the ball from inside the area as the game moved into the final five minutes.

Former Lincoln City defender Jude Stirling came on for the last part of the match in place of Miles as Milton Keynes looked to finish strongly.

They were looking the more likely to score, although Town almost had their equaliser after some determination from Bolland won the ball.

He gave it to Jones and his cross was headed goalwards by Fenton.Gueret got down and made his first meaningful save of the night to deny the Mariners what, on the balance of the second half performance, would probably have been a deserved equaliser.

Three minutes of stoppage time were added and in the last of them, Grimsby missed a golden chance to get that leveller.Newey crossed from the left to Butler but he put his header wide from six yards with the goal at his mercy.

It proved to be the last chance for the Mariners to get something out of the game but the Town management team as well as the 4,000 home supporters inside Blundell Park would have taken plenty of encouragement from their side's second half display.

Milton Keynes returned to the top spot in League two but following a comfortable first half, the men from stadium:mk certainly knew they had been in a game by the time the final whistle sounded.

The physical presence of Jones and Butler had changed the game and on another night, Grimsby might have taken more from the game.

They will be hoping for better luck in the next games, as well as when these two meet again in the more glamorous surroundings of Wembley at the end of the month.