Of course it's disappointing to lose matches against both local and title rivals, especially from the much-loathed Franchise FC, but there was enough evidence from a high quality encounter at London Road to suggest both teams will be in the promotion shake-up come May.

For now MK Dons have the edge in defensive aggression and experience. 'Streetwise' was the verdict of one esteemed member of the press corps after the game - presumably an opinion based as much on Dons' ability to push a tame referee to the limits as to their impressive organisation - and it was hard to disagree.

In contrast respective managers Paul Ince and Darren Ferguson disagreed on just about everything after the game.

Ince, who now enjoys a 3-0 managerial lead over his old Manchester United team-mate, believed his admittedly slick side should have won by at least three goals, while Ferguson insisted his players paid a far too heavy penalty for a shocking start to the second half.

The truth was probably somewhere in between. Posh played well enough to beat most teams in this division, but these Dons look to be a cut above anyone else, even though they had no striker worth comparing with the home front two.

Dons scored twice in the first 12 minutes after the break which was a mountain too high even for a Posh team who have made numerous late comebacks already this term.

Both goals were avoidable (it's a certainty that the Dons defence wouldn't have conceded them) and maybe confirmed that Posh missed the presence of their veteran defender Chris Westwood.

Firstly a long hopeful ball out of defence was hopelessly misjudged by Craig Morgan and with defensive partner Shane Blackett too slow on the scene, Kevin Gallen was able to make his one contribution to the match.

"He's no Linford Christie," admitted Ince afterwards, which made the Posh centre-backs even more culpable as Gallen still had time to move into the penalty area before firing home off a post.

That crucial goal two minutes after the re-start was followed 10 minutes later by another when a couple of fortunate ricochets enabled free-scoring midfielder Keith Andrews to supply a classy finish.

Posh had generally had the better of possession in the first half without creating a clear-cut opportunity.