Southend United were knocked out of the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, after a 2-0 defeat in the second round at MK Dons.
After being given a bye in the opening round, the Blues couldn't make their stay in the competition last any longer, after struggling to impose themselves against their League One rivals.
In fact, if it wasn't for Steve Mildenhall, Southend could have suffered a heavier defeat, as the goalkeeper pulled off a number of top draw saves.
Mildenhall was at full stretch inside the opening six minutes of the match, as he pulled off a fine save to tip Jemal Johnson's 20 yard shot around the left-hand post.
But he was soon left helpless to prevent Aaron Doran opening the scoring in the 18th minute.
Doran was allowed all the freedom he needed down the right to collect a pass from Aaron Wilbraham and arrow a composed finish into the far corner of the net on his MK Dons debut.
MK Dons continued to pepper the Southend goal with ambitious efforts from long range, as they took a strong foothold on the match.
Franck Moussa found space to try and force the issue at the other end of the field, when he rifled a shot just wide of the left-hand post, but it was a brief sight of goal, as MK Dons went on to double their lead on the stroke of half time.
A well-worked move caught out the Southend defence, as Wilbraham played Mark Carrington in on goal and he made no mistake with an emphatic finish into the roof of the net.
An excellent save from Mildenhall kept the score down at the start of the second half, as he pushed Johnson's strike around the post before MK Dons then came close to scoring from the resultant corner, with Wilbraham hooking the ball on to the crossbar.
Yet Southend could only relieve the pressure temporarily, as Mildenhall was called upon to make another vital stop, as he kept out Dean Lewington's header before Adam Barrett dealt with clearing the loose ball.
With the Blues failing to find any rhythm in attack, it was Mildenhall who was constantly involved in the action and he made another impressive save to deny Johnson from 25 yards out.
It was the same story again when Johnson collected Sam Baldock's pass inside the box and aimed for goal, with his effort pushed behind by Mildenhall, who was in a determined mood to keep his goal intact for the second half.
Johnson continued to provide the main threats for MK Dons, but Mildenhall pushed another chance wide of the post, as they failed to extend their lead in a 2-0 victory.
Southend: Mildenhall, Francis, Sankofa, Barrett, Herd, Laurent, Christophe, Sawyer, Moussa (O'Keefe 69), O'Donovan, Barnard (Freedman 74).
MK Dons: Gueret, Lewington, McCracken, Easter (Baldock 64), Wilbraham, Johnson, Carrington, Howell, Leven (Gobern 80), Swailes, Doran (Morgan 79).
