'The league is still young' insists Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann after heartbreak at Cardiff City
Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann insisted the season is “still young” after a cruel blow for his side away at Cardiff City.
McCann’s men visited the League One leaders having won just one of their previous 12 league fixtures.
However, Doncaster delivered a valiant display in the Welsh capital and very nearly escaped with a point.
Dreams were dashed in the dying embers, when Joel Bagan notched a 99th-minute winner for the Bluebirds.
Grant McCann’s reaction
McCann said: “Nobody wants to concede in the 99th minute of a game. We did more than enough to come away with at least a point and I felt we created the better chances in the game and we should have scored more than three goals.
“But I still gave my players huge credit in the changing room. It’s difficult to stand there and be really negative or reactionary to that performance. I’ll need to have a good look back at it.
“The league is still young with 26 games to go. I don’t take much notice of form at this point. I was pleased with how my players went about the game and with their performance.
“We could have come here and sat behind the ball and frustrated them, but we went toe to toe with a team that has a budget that is six times higher than ours. For large spells I thought we were the better team.
“We didn’t come here to bow down to Cardiff – we came here to be brave, to attack them and to play them at their own game.
“When that last-minute goal went in it was a killer blow, and I don’t know where the referee got an extra minute and a half from on top of the seven.”
Brian Barry-Murphy hails Doncaster Rovers
Cardiff boss Brian Barry-Murphy recognised the bold nature of Doncaster’s performance, describing the South Yorkshire side as “dangerous”.
He said: “I think if I speak too much about what we perceive as failings in the game, it would discredit Doncaster. They are so dangerous in the way that they play.
“We knew that beforehand, but our performance numbers just weren’t at the level that we would want. There are a whole lot of reasons for that, and the most important thing is that we found a way to win, and we did.”
The loss has left Doncaster 20th in the League One table.