Danny Schofield lauds match-winner George Miller as Doncaster down Grimsby

Posted Sunday, November 13, 2022 by PA

Doncaster head coach Danny Schofield praised match-winner George Miller’s all-round game after his brace led Rovers to a convincing 3-1 win over Grimsby.

Miller scored twice at Blundell Park, either side of a wonder strike from Harrison Biggins, making it nine League Two goals for the frontman this season.

Grimsby striker John McAtee marked his return after three months on the sidelines with a late consolation, but it was not enough to inspire an unlikely turnaround as three points headed back to South Yorkshire.

Schofield said of Miller: “George’s work-ethic, his effort, his application and willingness to chase lost causes, his ability as a footballer comes on top of that.

“He deserved his two goals and should be pleased with his performance.”

Miller opened the scoring after just six minutes when he converted the rebound after Kyle Knoyle had been denied by Max Crocombe.

Grimsby pushed for a leveller as Harry Clifton dragged wide from 25 yards before the same player failed to make the most of a one-on-one chance after racing clean through.

At the other end, Miller fired over aim shortly before half-time but Biggins produced a sensational half-volley to make it 2-0 shortly after the restart.

Miller then slotted home his second on the counter-attack just after the hour before McAtee marked his return from injury with a late reply.

Schofield said: “Every coach in the land wants a good start from their side, to be on the front foot and to win that first tackle and first pass.

“We had that and, in the first 15 minutes, I thought we had a good spell.

“When the momentum shifted, we still controlled the game when they had the ball and I was really pleased with that. Credit to the players for buying into what we want to do and for implementing our plan.”

Grimsby manager Paul Hurst was disappointed with the performances of all his players.

“There has to be a reality check about how hard it is winning football games. I have to say that 1-11 in old money, not one of them played well and the players know that,” he said.

“It’s hard enough to win a game of football if you have got three, four or five off it, but if your 11 don’t play well enough and to the standard, you’re not going to win.

“What it allowed them to do getting in front early on was put 11 players in their defensive half a lot of the time.

“That’s them being very compact and being hard to break down. We had a lot of the ball, but struggled to create too much.”