Swindon Town were unable to hold on to their early lead as Milton Keynes Dons came from behind to defeat them 3-1 in League Two.

Harry Smith’s goal after 18 seconds got Swindon off to an ideal start, but Kane Thompson-Sommers netted just as close to the half-time whistle to send the teams in level.

That goal managed to spur the hosts on and Scott Hogan and then Alex Gilbey turned home to make it four wins in a row for Scott Lindsey.

For Swindon, this is four straight defeats at the hands of MK Dons and four without a win in the league.

Ian Holloway made three changes from the side which started in the FA Cup First Round last weekend, with Ryan Delaney making his first league start since joining the club. Danny Butterworth and Rosaire Longelo were both restored to the 11 with Harrison Minturn, George Cox, and Miguel Freckleton dropping out.

It only took 18 seconds for the former Blackpool boss to get his new fans cheering. From the kick-off Smith won the flick on to get Ollie Clarke into space. He galloped into the area and stood up a cross. Smith came charging through and slammed a header into the back of the net.

After Holloway had spoken about wanting to avoid going behind yet again and that was definitely one way to go about stopping that from happening.

As expected, MK Dons came back at Swindon and forced them to do a lot of early defending. Jack Bycroft had to save from Joe Tomlinson and Hogan within ten minutes and the hosts even had a small shout for a penalty. If anyone thought after the early goal that this would become a comfortable 90 minutes, they were mistaken.

It was not entirely one-way traffic and Swindon looked sharp on the break. Bycroft made a big take at one end and immediately sent Kabongo Tshimanga in behind as he spun a defender. He held the ball up and gave it back to Smith. From 25 yards out he slammed an effort that struck the stanchion.

As the first half went on the cones started to be cleared and traffic was flowing in both directions. Having fallen behind early, the Buckinghamshire club were getting frustrated and misplacing passes whilst Swindon were able to put their foot on the ball and play at their own pace.

Lindsey’s team’s first half-an-hour was summed up in the 26th minute as Thompson-Sommers decided to shoot from 30 yards but slipped and sent it high into the stand.

In the 38th minute, MK Dons created a big opening. Stephen Wearne stepped into midfield and threaded a perfect pass through the gap to set Gilbey away. He drove into the box but Tunmise Sobowale used his pace to get back and make a well-timed sliding block.

In stoppage time, The Whites were starting to get something going. First Tomlinson made an unmarked run in behind. He was able to steady himself and curl a low effort at goal but Bycroft got across to deny him.

Less than a minute later another ball from the right found Gilbey at the far post but again Bycroft was able to make the block at his near post.

But the three additional minutes proved one too many for Swindon to hold out. Scott Hogan got on the end of a Tomlinson cross and although Bycroft parried it, the ball fell for Thompson-Sommers to fire in the equaliser.

Swindon switched it up at the break as Joel McGregor replaced Danny Butterworth and they switched to a 343 to match up with MK Dons.

Despite this, the chances that the hosts were getting at the end of the first half continued into the second. Hogan raced in behind Swindon but decided to pass instead of shooting when through on Bycroft. Sobowale got back with a heroic recovery challenge before Will Wright cleared.

A quick counter led to McGregor driving into the area and getting a shot off. That came back to Clarke who forced a big save from Tom McGill.

In the 57th minute, an MK Dons corner was saved spectacularly by Bycroft but the ball dropped to MJ Williams. He smashed the ball and it deflected off the thigh of Hogan and into the back of the net.

Swindon tried to rally and push forward but it got worse before it got better. Aaron Nemane played a one-two to get away from Longelo and cross for Gilbey to head home at the far post.

They did have their chances to make a game of the final 20 minutes as Smith raced through but messed up the pass to Tshimanga and then Paul Glatzel stabbed an effort straight at McGill. But ultimately Town had lost their composure and any chance of coming back.

MKD starting XI: McGill, Williams, Gilbey, Wearne, Tomlinson, Nemane, Offord, Thompson-Sommers, Maguire, White, Hogan.

MKD substitutes: MacGillivray, Pritchard, Lewington, Tucker, Harrison, Leigh, Hendry.

STFC starting XI: Bycroft, Sobowale, Delaney, Wright, Clarke, Smith, Longelo, Kilkenny, Tshimanga, Butterworth, Drinan.

STFC substitutes: Barden, Ofoborh, Cotterill, Glatzel, McGurk, Minturn, McGregor.

Attendance: 7,407 (1,124 away).