MILTON KEYNES DONS V COVENTRY CITY
SATURDAY AUGUST 23RD AT 3PM
AT STADIUMMK, STADIUM WAY, MILTON KEYNES, MK1 1ST
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TRAVEL
Club coaches leave White Street at 12noon and cost £12.
stadiummk is located in the Denbigh North site between Grafton Street, Saxon Street and the A5.
Due to stadiummk only being built in 2007 your satellite navigation system may not recognise the postcode. It may help to enter MK1 1QB which is the nearby Asda store.
By Road
SOUTH BOUND M1: Exit the motorway at Junction 14 and turn right at the roundabout at the top of the exit slip road towards Milton Keynes.
NORTH BOUND M1: Exit the motorway at Junction 14 and take the left-hand filter lane towards Milton Keynes.
Continue straight over the roundabout (Northfield) on H6 Childs Way. At the next roundabout (Fox Milne) turn left onto V11 Tongwell Street. Continue straight over next roundabout (Monkston) along the V11 Tongwell Street. At the next roundabout (Brinklow) turn right along the H8 Standing Way (A421). Continue on the H8 Standing Way (A421) following signs for Buckingham continuing over a number of roundabouts, on reaching the Bleak Hall roundabout turn left onto the V6 Grafton Street and follow signs for the stadium.
Vehicles traveling from other areas should follow the brown football signs which are located on all main approaches to the area.
The stadium can also be accessed easily from the northbound A5 running from Dunstable. Exit the road signposted Central Bletchley and take the first exit off Redmoor Roundabout. The stadium turning is on the left.
Away supporters should follow the brown signs for Football Coaches and enter the stadium site via the Saxon Street entrance (between KFC and McDonalds) which is the most convenient for Gate 3.
Parking
Those traveling to the match by car should follow the brown stadium signage. Limited parking is available at the stadium - car parking fees of £7 will be charged.
Alternatively, patrons should park considerately in the industrial areas surrounding the stadium and NOT in the parking areas of the nearby retail and trade outlets, or in areas signed as privately owned (such as Granby Trade Park) where there is a risk of clamping. Dedicated disabled parking is only available at the stadium site.
No football parking is permitted at the Asda store adjacent to the stadium site and a Parking Charge Notice of £60 will be issued for cars identified as parking for football or those exceeding the two-hour parking period.
By Train
The two stations nearest to the stadium are Bletchley and Milton Keynes Central. Bletchley is approximately a 25-minute walk from the stadium site and Milton Keynes Central is a 30-40 minute walk. Both routes are along Milton Keynes Redways. For train timetable information, contact National Rail Inquiries on 08457 484950. The MK Dons Matchday Express shuttle bus service runs from Blecthley and Milton Keynes Central, details can be found below.
Taxis
Hackney Carriages charge a fixed fee of £9 from Central Milton Keynes Station to the stadium. Licensed private hire companies vary, but will be less than this.
The four big licensed minicab companies in Milton Keynes are:
Ace Cars: 01908 555555
Eezy: 01908 218218
Raffles: 01908222222
Skyline: 01908222111
These are fully licensed and will show Milton Keynes minicab 'BLUE' plates to the rear of the vehicle. To use the services of a minicab a person MUST FIRST pre-book with the operator (company).
Buses
There is one bus service - Arriva Service No 1 - which runs from Milton Keynes Central Rail Station via the City Centre, Oldbrook and the Hospital to the stop on Grafton Street adjacent to the stadium entrance. It then continues to Bletchley Bus Station. This runs every 30 minutes at 5 minutes and 35 minutes past the hour from Milton Keynes Central Rail Station and the journey time is 10 minutes. The return journey leaves the Granby, Grafton Street stop at 15 minutes and 45 minutes past the hour and arrives at the Central Rail Station 9 minutes later.
Shuttle Service
The MK Dons Football Express offers two different routes to stadiummk. Route 1 starts at Bletchley Railway Station from 1pm on a Saturday matchday and every twenty minutes until 2.20pm. From there it stops at Bletchley bus station before arriving at stadiummk with the last scheduled arrival at 2.34pm.
After the match, the return services collects from the Grafton Street bus stop opposite stadiummk from 4.50pm on Saturdays and again runs every twenty minutes.
Alternatively, Route 2 kicks off from Milton Keynes Central Railway Station from 1pm on Saturdays with a stop on Midsummer Boulevard by JD Wetherspoons followed by a pick up at MK College on Chaffron Way. Operating every 30 minutes, the Route 2 services leaving MK Central station for the last time on Saturday at 2.30pm with the last arrival at stadiummk being 2.51pm. For midweek games, Route 2 starts at 5.50pm and again runs every half an hour with the last arrival at stadiummk being 7.41pm.
And in terms of return journeys, Saturday pick ups on Grafton Street run from 4.50pm and are every half hour until the last run at 6.50pm, while for midweek fixtures the first run is 9.45pm and the last is 11.15pm.
The MK Dons Football Express is priced at just £1.50 either way or £2 return, offering superb value for money compared to £7 for parking at stadiummk or the alternative of leaving your car in an unsecure car park near the home of the Dons.
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ADMISSION
Tickets cost £20 for adults, £15 for senior citizens and £6 for U18's. You can pay on the day
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MATCH OFFICIALS
The currently appointed referee for Coventry City’s League One game at MK Dons is Darren Sheldrake.
The Surrey based official has only refereed three Coventry City matches before. The last came back in April with the 1-0 defeat at Peterborough and the other two games were the 4-2 defeat at Gillingham in March 2014 in which he sent off Danny Seaborne, booked eight players and awarded four penalties.
His other game was the 2-1 defeat to Crewe at the Ricoh Arena on February 23rd 2013 in which he booked four players.
He has been the Fourth Official for a couple of games including the defeat at Leyton Orient in January 2014 and the FA Cup Third Round tie at Tottenham in January 2013.
His assistants are Ian Rathbone and Adrian Sannerude. The Fourth Official is Simon Barrow.
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THE LAST TIME
Saturday will be the fifth time that Coventry City have played MK Dons in their current guise.
City have won twice both at stadiumMK, drawn once at the Ricoh Arena and lost once at Sixfields last season.
Last season City won 3-1 with a goal from Chris Dagnall and a brace from Chris Maguire in the last four minutes of the match.
The teams that day were:
City: Murphy, Christie, Seaborne, J. Clarke, Adams, Thomas, Fleck, Baker (Maguire 64, Moussa (Phillips 86), Dagnall (Webster 94), Wilson. Subs: Burge, Haynes, Garner, Maund.
MK Dons: McLoughlin (GK), Lewington (C), Hodson, Williams, Gleeson, Potter, Reeves (Carruthers 88), Bamford, Powell (Smith 76), Spence, Jennings (Alli 71). Subs: Burns, Flanagan, Baldock, Banton.
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BETTING
Coventry City are not fancied to win for a third successive time at Milton Keynes Dons on Saturday.
City are being quoted at 3/1 by the bookies with MK Dons who are fourth in the League One table at 4/5 and the draw at 13/5.
If you are planning on having a bet on the game, make sure you shop around for the best odds as some bookmakers can be rather tight with their odds. You can check the prices being offered by the leading bookmakers by clicking on http://www.oddschecker.com/football/english/league-1/mk-dons-v-coventry/winner