Gary McSheffrey lauds Doncaster “togetherness” after huge win over Shrewsbury

Caretaker boss Gary McSheffrey hailed the togetherness of his Doncaster side as they fought for a vital 1-0 win against Shrewsbury in their battle to avoid the drop.

Joseph Olowu headed in the only goal of the game 11 minutes from time to see Rovers rise off the foot of League One and claw the margin to safety and the Shrews back to just three points.

McSheffrey has urged his squad to play with freedom as they seek to turn around their fortunes and was delighted they did so in a high-pressure match.

He said: “We knew it was a big game.

“We tried to play it down a bit because it’s only three points but when it’s head to head with a rival it’s the difference between three points and nine points behind them so it was important.

“The lads realised that. I’m just delighted because the togetherness was there in abundance and they went the extra yard for each other.

“Hopefully they take some real confidence from it.”

McSheffrey praised goalkeeper Louis Jones for his efforts to keep the score level before Olowu struck.

He said: “We rode our luck in the second half, they created some good chances and we needed Louis to make big saves.

“We earned that from the first-half performance where we were the better team and played some good stuff.

“I asked them at half-time to up the intensity and take the handbrake off.

“While we’ve got them against the ropes, let’s not let the tempo drop.

“I think we played winning football once we got ahead. The decision making was very good to put the ball in the right areas.

“The lads deserved that win.”

Shrewsbury boss Steve Cotterill felt a demanding week of football told on his players as they failed to make second-half pressure count at the Keepmoat.

The trip to Doncaster was a third away game in a week for the Shrews, who headed to Carlisle in the FA Cup before visiting Wigan in midweek.

“We were no more than average and I think we looked tired,” Cotterill said. “We had no spring in our step.

“We did okay in the game but we made a mistake before the corner they scored from.

“We’ve had chances where if we take them then we win the game by three or four.

“We didn’t look sharp and we looked like it has been a long week for us.

“We couldn’t get to grips with having a bit more speed in our play.

“I think we had enough in the first half as well as the second but we were doing things we haven’t worked on and didn’t need to do.”