Manager Greg Abbott went with the same starting line up for the fourth consecutive game as he looked to continue the run of good early season form shown by his troops.

Jason Price and Danny Livesey were the only absentees with the Cumbrians holding a haul of four points from a possible six from their opening two encounters.

The opening ten minutes were cagey from both sides but United had the first real chance, with Madine seeing a header blocked by Woodards and then slicing a shot wide after being setup by good work down the left from Zoko.

It was the visitors who had the next good chance and Easter would be left wondering how he didn't give them the lead. A low cross from the Dons right was cleared by Berrett only as far as Lewington, who took a touch before crashing a superb volley from 25 yards off the crossbar. The ball fell kindly for Easter, but Adam Collin recovered superbly to make an instinctive save with his legs from point blank range.

A long punt forward from Collin saw Curran superbly control the ball in the area but Woodards came across to make a great covering tackle as the United forward was about to shoot on goal.

Curran shortly after came close again to opening his account for United, but after getting on the end of a Zoko through ball and rounding keeper Martin, the tight angle worked against him and he could only hit his shot into the side netting.

The game was then sparked to life by an off the ball incident involving Ian Harte and Jermaine Easter. The Dons forward went down holding his face but after consultation with his assistants, referee Mark Haywood took no action against Harte.

The decision appeared to upset the Dons and United took advantage of their drop in concentration on 42 minutes. A corner from the left by Berrett was headed back across goal by Madine for Zoko, who smashed a volley into the back of the net to give The Blues the lead.

Still irate about the ref's decision on the previous incident, Dons boss Karl Robinson was sent to the stands for his reaction to the goal and got to his seat in the Director's box just in time to see United take the lead.

Frank Simek picked out Madine with a chipped ball into the box and his flick down fell nicely for Berrett, who fired the ball past Martin from six yards to give United an extra cushion going into the break.

Half Time: United 2 - 0 Dons

Both sides stuck with the same eleven for the start of the second half and it was United who started the better side, with Zoko trying a spectacular overhead kick from a Simek cross, only to completely miss the ball.

Unperturbed, Zoko battled on and was again in the thick of the action a few minutes later as United extended their lead further. He was picked out by Berrett on the left side of the 18 yard box and smashed a shot against Martin's right hand post. From the rebound, Zoko won the ball back and played in a low cross that Taiwo flicked up for Madine, who confidently volleyed the ball past Martin for his second goal of the season.

The Dons then changed things with a double substitution but it didn't have the desired effect as United grabbed another goal to seal the three points. Brilliant work down the left by Zoko saw the Ivorian forward keep the ball in and leave Gleeson stranded before hitting a low cross that Madine played back across goal for Taiwo, who hit a shot through a crowd of players to open his account for the season.

United look comfortable but were punished for switching off. Dons midfielder Peter Leven picked up the ball from a Harte clearance and hit a superb low shot into the bottom corner from 30 yards that gave Collin no chance.

The visitors pushed for a second goal but found it difficult to get past a stubborn backline and bar a few comfortable saves, Collin was rarely tested again and United held on for three points that would put them top of League One after just three games of the season.  

Goals

United - Zoko (42), Berrett (45+3), Madine (55), Taiwo (61)

Dons - Leven (64)

Bookings

United - Curran (46)

Teams

United - Collin, Simek, Chester, Harte, McDaid, Thirlwell, Berrett (Robson 75), Taiwo, Zoko (Bridge-Wilkinson 87), Madine, Curran. Subs - Caig, Murphy, Hurst, Kane, Bowman.

Dons - Martin, Lewington, O'Hanlon, Gleeson (Doumbe 62), Easter, Baldock, Balanta (Guy 56), Woodards, Hamann (Ibehre 56), Leven, Chadwick. Subs - Searle, Carrington, Howell, Chicksen.

Away fans - 199