'Incredible' Billy Sharp spares Doncaster Rovers' blushes in TV FA Cup test at Kettering Town

Grant McCann praised two-goal hero Billy Sharp after he saved Doncaster from a surprise FA Cup exit.

League Two Rovers trailed 1-0 at half-time to seventh-tier Kettering – 68 places below Rovers – after Isiah Noel-Williams’ tidy finish, but a brace from veteran Sharp spared their blushes.

The 38-year-old scored late on in normal time, typically in the right place at the right time to bundle the ball in after a knockdown from a corner, to send the tie to an extra 30 minutes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Then in the extra period, Sharp pounced inside the box again inside the box, right at the end of the first half of extra time to prevent Rovers being taken to the lottery of spot-kicks in front of the BBC cameras.

Billy Sharp of Doncaster Rovers celebrates scoring his team's second goal with team-mates Kyle Hurst and Joe Ironside during the Emirates FA Cup Second Round match at Kettering (Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)Billy Sharp of Doncaster Rovers celebrates scoring his team's second goal with team-mates Kyle Hurst and Joe Ironside during the Emirates FA Cup Second Round match at Kettering (Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Billy Sharp of Doncaster Rovers celebrates scoring his team's second goal with team-mates Kyle Hurst and Joe Ironside during the Emirates FA Cup Second Round match at Kettering (Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

“I knew it was going to be a fight today,” said Rovers boss McCann.

“We lit a couple of fires for them really early on. And that just set the tone for the first half really.

“We wanted to play in behind and cause Kettering problems. Second half we had to change it because it’s getting on my nerves about how we have to keep reacting.

“The group need to start taking chances when they get them.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Isiah Noel Williams of Kettering Town threatened an upset after opening the scoring against Doncaster Rovers (Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)Isiah Noel Williams of Kettering Town threatened an upset after opening the scoring against Doncaster Rovers (Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
Isiah Noel Williams of Kettering Town threatened an upset after opening the scoring against Doncaster Rovers (Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Billy is just incredible and a great person for us to have around the changing room. I think that’s eight goals now which is a decent return for him.”

Noel-Williams’ strike threatened an almighty upset for Kettering when he picked Patrick Kelly’s pocket before scoring from range.

But Sharp had other ideas as he applied two typical poacher finishes to end Kettering’s fairytale run.

Their boss Richard Lavery said: “We’ve done our club proud today and our fans proud. We’ve taken Doncaster to the wire and just fallen at the final hurdle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I’m just gutted for the lads because we’ve shown we’re a good team. We showed it at Northampton and we’ve done it against Doncaster.

“We’ve beaten one league team and taken another to extra-time so I’m proud. I’m gutted we’ve lost but that’s football.

“This has put the club back on the map. I’m the worst loser in the world but I’ll have to take this on the chin.”

News you can trust since 1754
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice