AFC Wimbledon climbed to the top of the Sky Bet League Two table thanks to a faultless 3-0 victory over MK Dons in a feisty affair.
It was a fast start from the hosts in one of both teams' most exciting fixtures in their respective league schedules and Wimbledon were in the ascendancy as soon as Myles Hippolyte broke the deadlock on 11 minutes.
Even though MK Dons were on top in terms of possession throughout, they struggled to test Owen Goodman in the Wimbledon goal after throwing bodies forward in the dying embers in search of an equaliser but Callum Maycock ensured derby bragging rights with a seven-minute brace in additional time.
The hosts opted to make three changes from their 1-0 victory over Fleetwood Town two weeks ago. Isaac Ogundere came in for Ryan Johnson at centre-back, James Tilley made his first start of the season for James Furlong and Joe Piggot was replaced by Matthew Stevens in the forward line.
Mike Williamson's side have made a slow start to their season but remained unchanged from their 1-0 home victory over Walsall last time out.
Story of the match
Expectedly, it was a feisty start to proceedings in one of the most hotly-anticipated rivalries in the Football League. Omar Bugiel nearly gave Wimbledon an ideal start on four minutes as he found space on the edge of the box but his effort from distance only warmed the gloves of Thomas McGill.
MK Dons had their on-loan Canadian shot-stopper to thank again two minutes later with a sublime save to prevent the deadlock from being broken early on.
At a time when there is so much emphasis on building from the back, it nearly came to haunt the away side when the ball was given away to Jake Reeves who provided for Hippolyte whose strike couldn't beat an inspired McGill.
Their relentless pressure told though with 11 minutes on the clock as an in-direct free-kick following an illegal backpass presented Hippolyte with a chance for his first goal of the season and he grasped it, slamming home past several white shirts to cause delirious scenes in the home end of the Cherry Red Records Stadium.
Aiming to rectify last season's play-off semi-final humiliation against Crawley Town where they lost 8-1 on aggregate, the Milton Keynes-based outfit were second-best in every department in the early knockings and had rarely ventured into the Wimbledon half, despite dictating possession.
Their first glimpse of goal came courtesy of Aaron Nemane whose deft header brought Goodman into action for the first time with a finger-tip save to deny the right-wing-back.
Jonnie Jackson spoke pre-match of the 'significance of the fixture' and his side's high-pressing machine, led by Lebanon international Bugiel, had ample opportunities to inflict more misery on their opponents but they were slightly wasteful. Tilley's powerful effort was pushed away by McGill just under 20 minutes in before Joe Lewis could only angle his header over from Tilley's delivery soon after.
The half-time whistle couldn't have come sooner for MK Dons who didn't have a shot on target in the opening 45 minutes and were being outbattled by their hosts. They had a half-chance to restore parity a few minutes into the second period as Tommy Leigh's cross from a tight angle was smothered by Goodman.
Hippolyte had the chance to grab his brace and Wimbledon's second on the hour-mark. An expert Bugiel flick for Stevens saw the forward unselfishly provide for the goal-scorer, bringing McGill into action with a routine save.
Despite struggling to summon much of a goal threat in the opening 70 minutes, MK Dons had a golden opportunity to get back into this one courtesy of Joe Tomlinson. An inch-perfect cross from centre-back Callum Tripp was put on a plate for the 24-year-old who saw his header rattle the post.
MK Dons began to display more attacking intent in the closing stages but were finding it difficult to break down a robust Wimbledon rearguard.
Nonetheless, Tomlinson was their main threat but his best chance could only see a strike go well wide of the mark.
A glorious afternoon in the south-west London sunshine was capped off for the hosts when the substitutes combined - Joe Pigott playing the ball across the box, which was missed by Josh Kelly, for Maycock to calmly dispatch into the net.
There was still time to inflict more damage on a despondent MK Dons side and Maycock, a summer signing from Solihull Moors, notched his second goal in new colours when Kelly and the midfielder linked up to good effect, resulting in the latter slotting home seven minutes into additional time.
Having dealt with a late MK Dons surge, Wimbledon were able to hold on to the three points to temporarily climb up to first place while also picking up their fourth win in this contest in 16 games in all competitions.
