Accrington boss Coleman hails his side’s character after beating Doncaster

Posted Wednesday, April 24, 2019 by PA

John Coleman was full of praise for his Accrington side as they moved five points clear of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win at play-off chasing Doncaster.

Accrington took a two-goal lead in the first half, with Sean McConville and Paul Smyth firing in for the visitors.

Danny Andrew pulled one back for Doncaster in the 90th minute with a deflected free-kick but the home side could not find the equaliser in stoppage time.

Coleman said: “I thought the players got exactly what they deserved tonight, they showed big hearts, big character, mental toughness and I must say a great mention for the fans, they were superb.

“It’s been a long hard slog this season, we’re still not there yet but we’ve took a step towards it.

“I thought everyone was fantastic, they all put a real shift in. We limited them to very few chances.”

Coleman was reluctant to be drawn into any talk of League One safety, when asked whether their 51 points would be enough, Coleman said: “No no no, this is a very, very strange league this season, and there’ll be lots and lots of twists and turns before the end of the season.

“We need to get some points, or a point on Saturday, then I think we could be mathematically safe but until five o’clock we won’t know what’s required before the Portsmouth game.”

Doncaster boss Grant McCann admitted his side made mistakes as they slipped to their second successive defeat in League One, but wants them to enjoy their remaining matches.

Speaking after the game, McCann said: “We were very loose in possession but we ain’t got time to dwell, we have to move on and we have to stick together.

“We’ve come this far and the last thing we want to do is throw the toys out of the pram.

“I felt as if the boys were, just not passing the ball to each other in the first half, the lack of movement at times and how sloppy we were in our play and you don’t give yourself a chance when you do that.”

Doncaster remained sixth in the league, in the final play-off place and just three points ahead of Peterborough with two games left to play.

On the upcoming play-off challenge, McCann added: “The boys are fully focused on the next game now and it’s Oxford and then we have to go and win.

“We’ve got to do it the hard way, we’ve been wrote off and we will be wrote off again.

“The last thing I said to that group was go and enjoy these last two games, there’s no fear here no one putting any pressure on you there’s no stress go and enjoy them.”