Doncaster Rovers 1 Crystal Palace 0: Plenty of work still needed, admits Saunders

Crystal Palace defender Aleksandar Tunchev scored the only goal of the game - deflecting a 25 yard shot from John Oster beyond his own goalkeeper Julian Speroni in the 61st minute.

The victory - Rovers’ first of the season - was not enough to lift the club off the bottom of the Championship table but it gave Saunders the perfect start to his reign after replacing Sean O’Driscoll at the Keepmoat Stadium.

The first 45 minutes of the Saunders’ era had been anything but a classic.

It was goalless and goalscoring opportunities for both sides had been few and far between.

Palace should probably have been awarded a penalty after 10 minutes but referee Chris Sarginson missed a blatant push by Rovers defender George Friend on striker Glenn Murray.

Rovers’ new signing Jon Parkin wasted the best chance of the half when shooting wide from 12 yards after being set up perfectly by Jon Oster.

Referee Sarginson then waved away pleas for a penalty to Rovers when Parkin appeared to be climbed on by defender Patrick McCarthy.

Rovers goalkeeper Neil Sullivan saved low from Murray just before the interval. The Palace striker really should have done better.

Rovers improved significantly after the introduction of substitutes Billy Sharp and Milan Lalkovic in the second half.

Sharp was making a quicker than expected return to action after damaging ankle ligaments against Brighton on the opening day of the season.

Saunders, who had only half a day to train with the players before the match, said: “We were awful in the first half and I could see that players were nervous.

“We couldn’t keep hold of the ball at all and I just told them at half-time to relax and try to pass the ball better.

“We got a bit of luck with the goal but if you don’t chance your arm and shoot you don’t score.

“It was vital to get three points and to keep a clean sheet was a bonus but best of all was to see the supporters leaving the ground with a smile on their faces.”

He added: “It’s early days for me and we’ve got quite a bit of work to do but we can improve no end on that performance.”

For full reports and reaction read the Yorkshire Post on Saturday and Monday and follow the action throughout the games on the Yorkshire Post website.