Doncaster boss Danny Schofield hails late Jonathan Mitchell save

Posted Sunday, October 30, 2022 by PA

New boss Danny Schofield hailed the efforts of goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell after Doncaster ended their longest run without a clean sheet since 2016.

Rovers had gone 12 games since their last shut-out before the visit of Gillingham to the Eco-Power Stadium, but Harrison Biggins’ 60th-minute header proved sufficient to secure a 1-0 win.

The victory earned Schofield his first victory in charge of his hometown club at the third attempt and, while shot-shy Gillingham have only netted six league goals this term, the ex-Huddersfield boss was still grateful for a late intervention by Mitchell.

Schofield, who had previously overseen a 1-1 draw at Crewe and a narrow 1-0 home defeat to Stevenage, said: “We have shown in all three games that we’re a competitive team first and foremost and every game in this country, from the Premier League to League Two, is decided by key moments.

“Jonathan Mitchell came out and punched the ball away at the end and that was massive for us and it was a well-deserved win over the balance of play.

“We found it difficult to break down Gillingham at times because they were very well organised, but I think we took up better positions in the second half and players were receiving the ball higher up the pitch. The players are taking our messages on board and Harrison has been fantastic since I came into the building.

“He took his goal well and deserved his man-of-the-match award. The main emotion at the final whistle was one of relief, but the second half was also very enjoyable and it’s good to be in and around the play-offs.”

Gillingham boss Neil Harris branded his team “nearly men”.

He said: “We’re not far away because we are matching teams for 45, 60, 75 or 80 minutes, but I don’t want nearly men. I don’t want a team that nearly draws or wins or players that almost score, almost block a shot or almost win a header.

“We got in good areas, but did not have that one-on-one ability, excitement or thought process to make it count. It was typical of one of our games in that they had a couple of chances and we had a couple of chances, but we’ve come out on the wrong side of another result.

“It’s a case of me coming out with repetitive messages game after game. Doncaster are a really good football side, but we conceded from a cross and it was an overly poor goal from our point of view.

“We then huffed and puffed to get back into the game but did not do enough individually in the final third and were not brave enough.”