Northampton 1 Doncaster Rovers 3: Grant McCann's pride as survival is secured

Rovers moved up to 13th with a 3-1 victory at relegated Northampton after Elliot Lee, Hakeeb Adelakun and George Broadbent all scored in the second half.

They had been in the bottom four midway through the season.

“I was pleased with the second half but not so much the first,” said McCann.

“We had control but we were a bit sloppy at the top end of the pitch so we tweaked things at half-time and I thought we were better in the second half.

“It’s difficult to play against a team that’s been relegated because you’re not sure what to expect and I thought Northampton did play with a bit of freedom.

“But I said to the players before the game, if we get one, I think we’ll get two or three quite quickly and that’s what happened.

“It was a professional performance and the response was really good in the second half because I wasn’t happy at half-time.

“Our form has been brilliant since the start of January – we are right in the top six over the last 21 games. I still have sleepless nights thinking where we could have been had we won two or three games during that bad spell.

“We could have been closer to the top six. It’s not to be but hopefully next season we can reset and go again.”

Cameron McGeehan scored a stoppage-time consolation for Northampton but they have now lost nine straight games in all competitions.

Northampton: Burge, Burroughs (McCarthy 73), Dyche, Guthrie, Guinness-Walker (McAdam 73), Fornah, McGeehan, Campbell (Swyer 73), Jacobs (Evans 64), Eaves (List 64), Hoskins. Unused substitutes: Fitzsimons, Taylor.

Doncaster Rovers: Lo-Tutala, Sterry, Grehan, Pearson, Senior, Gotts, Molyneux (Gibson 82), Bailey, Lee (Hanlan 82), Clifton (Broadbent 75), Adelakun (Close 90). Unused substitutes: Clark, Byrne, Nixon.

Referee: D Baines (Merseyside).