Glyn Hodges delighted with Dons display as they battle back to hold Rotherham

Posted Sunday, February 16, 2020 by PA

AFC Wimbledon boss Glyn Hodges praised his side’s spirit as they rallied to earn a 2-2 draw at League One leaders Rotherham.

Max Sanders’ opener had given the Dons a half-time lead but the Millers looked set for a fourth straight win after second-half strikes from Matt Crooks and Freddie Ladapo.

But Joe Pigott was tripped in the box in stoppage time and Kwesi Appiah smashed home the resulting penalty to earn the Dons a point.

Hodges said: “I was pleased with the way we stayed in it. They’re a good side and you can see why they’re top of the league. They’ve got a top manager and players.

“Not many people are going to come and get a point here. I felt that we stood up to them. We rode our luck of course but some of the tackling and clearances were magnificent.

“We knew we would get our chance and fortunately the referee is brave enough to give the penalty at the end.

“We came in 1-0 up and I thought we could have done a bit more and caused a few more problems. It gave us something to hold on to and it was an onslaught and the fans were onside. It was backs against the wall but we managed to get a point.

“We were not going to get our own way here. We had to fight and dig in and we did that.”

Rotherham manager Paul Warne is relishing a tight promotion race, with the point keeping his team top on goal difference but the chasing pack goes down right to eighth-placed Fleetwood who are only six points behind.

He said: “We go out to try and win every football game and I think our play deserved it. I am happy, I thought we were excellent.

“We played as well as we could but we just didn’t take our chances. It’s going to go down to the wire and there’s going to be setbacks.

“There are going to be twists and turns. It was nice thinking if we would have won then everything would still be in our hands.

“We will pick them up again Monday and go through what we could have done better and hopefully learn and be a little bit stronger for the next game.

“At half-time I asked the lads to be patient and believe in themselves and they would create chances. We took a couple of chances in the second half and I thought we were the better side throughout. It just wasn’t our day to take all three.”