Gary McSheffrey felt Doncaster Rovers deserved their luck in big win at Sunderland

Doncaster Rovers manager Gary McSheffrey hopes his side can take the confidence from Saturday’s stunning win over Sunderland into Tuesday’s game against Ipswich Town.
By Ben McKenna
Published 6th Feb 2022, 11:45 BST
Updated 6th Feb 2022, 12:07 BST

Reo Griffiths and Tommy Rowe scored in the first half, and a late consolation from Corry Evans was unable to turn the tide on the day Jermain Defoe made his second debut in front of 39,000 fans.

It was Rovers second victory inside four games and the perfect response to their 5-0 home defeat against South Yorkshire rivals Rotherham United.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Hopefully, it is about how we recover and take that confidence into Tuesday, it is another difficult game,” said McSheffrey.

HOLDING ON: Doncaster Rovers' goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell shields the ball from Sunderland's Jermain Defoe. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.HOLDING ON: Doncaster Rovers' goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell shields the ball from Sunderland's Jermain Defoe. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.
HOLDING ON: Doncaster Rovers' goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell shields the ball from Sunderland's Jermain Defoe. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.

“We knew we had a tough end to January and all of February but we have two wins.

“If you had offered me that before the MK Dons game, I would have snapped your hand off.

“I’d snap your hand off for one win in two until the end of the season.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

McSheffrey admitted that he had a number of players playing through injuries at the Stadium of Light.

OPENER: Doncaster Rovers' Reo Griffiths (left) scores his side's first goal of the game at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.OPENER: Doncaster Rovers' Reo Griffiths (left) scores his side's first goal of the game at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.
OPENER: Doncaster Rovers' Reo Griffiths (left) scores his side's first goal of the game at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland. Picture: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.

Rovers did have a lucky escape in the second half as Ross Stewart’s header appeared to cross the line, only for the referee and the linesman to wave play on.

McSheffrey added: “We were well worth our two-goal lead at half time. In the second half, we knew we were going to weather a storm. To a man they worked their socks off, we have got boys in there who aren’t match fit who did 80, 90 minutes for us.

“I think we deserved the luck a bit.”

Sunderland: Hoffman; Winchester (Clarke 61), Batth, Doyle, Cirkin; Neil (Matete 72), Evans; Gooch, Embleton (Defoe 72), Pritchard; Stewart. Unused subs: Patterson, Dajaku, Hume, Roberts.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Doncaster Rovers: Mitchell; Younger, Williams, Olowu, Jackson; Smith, Rowe; Seaman, Martin (Gardner 70), Odubeko (Dodoo 74); Griffiths (Knoyle 80). Unused subs: Jones, Clayton, Barlow, Agard.

Referee: W Finnie (Bedfordshire).

Related topics:SunderlandJermain DefoeIpswich TownCorry Evans

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.