Soccer
Grant McCann praises Doncaster for holding nerve to beat Stockport on penalties
Doncaster manager Grant McCann was delighted his side held their nerve after sealing penalty shootout joy in the Carabao Cup against Stockport.
Rovers advanced into the second round 5-4 on penalties with the game finishing 1-1 after 90 minutes.
Alfie May had opened the scoring for Rovers just after the interval before Kyle Wootton levelled matters not long after.
Rovers goalkeeper Tommy Simkin was then the hero in the shootout, saving two spot-kicks with Hakeeb Adelakun netting the eventual winner.
“I thought it was an excellent defensive performance,” McCann said.
“We knew Stockport are a really high possession-based team. We had to be patient and I knew we’d have to change it at half-time, possibly because of the heat, just to keep the energy at the top end.
“Then we scored a really good goal from a corner but probably the most frustrating thing we did today is how quickly we’ve conceded afterwards.
“I don’t know how it happened, I’ll have to sit and watch it back on the video, but we held our nerve, we sent the game through and won it at the end.”
Rovers discover their second-round opponents on Monday evening when the draw is made.
Stockport chief Jim McNulty said: “Truthfully, as a coach, how do you coach for penalties?
“I enjoyed the performance though. For me it looks like a performance that wins games. There was a lot of control and lot of brave play with a high level of technical execution from the players. Doncaster are a good team under a good coach.
“Outcome aside, I feel like that formula feels like a winning one.”
