Fergie not sweating on Donny dry spell
DARREN Ferguson is confident Doncaster Rovers will escape relegation despite their desperate slump down the table.
Rovers were beaten in a crunch clash at home to Shrewsbury after Thorsten Stuckmann’s goalkeeping blunder handed Shaun Whalley a winner.
The defeat leaves Ferguson’s men with no wins in nine attempts and just two points above the League One trapdoor.
“If we win on Tuesday we’re five points clear of Blackpool. I’m not going to criticise my players because they’re giving it a good go,” he said.
“There are no excuses, the run is horrific, but we’ll get enough from the remaining 12 games to stay in the division for next season.
“This was a huge game for us.We were good in the first half, but momentum shifted in the second half.
“The goal was awful to concede. The goalkeeper has shouted ‘leave it’ and it’s gone in the net.
“We have to find a way of digging out a result and putting a 90-minute display together.”
Shrewsbury boss Micky Mellon praised his side’s back four for the valiant defending which laid the platform for Town’s third win in five.
He said:“The back four were superb and were a big reason why we went in level at the break.
“They won the contacts and blocks they needed and we are delighted with their performance.We
did not have enough control of the game in the first half, which was a concern. We had a chat about it at the break and were much better in the second half.
“I wanted the players to answer the questions that were put in front of them and they have done that. This is a vital three points for us and it is nice to get another clean sheet.”
Mitchell Lund headed over for Rovers on nine minutes before the referee waved away penalty appeals after Conor Grant’s cross was charged down.
Abu Ogogo bravely blocked Luke McCullough’s piledriver, before Jayson Leutwiler palmed away another thumping strike from McCullough on 29 minutes.
Andy Mangan tested Stuckmann with a 39th-minute header, before Dominic Smith nodded over just after the restart as the Shrews finally got into their stride.
Rovers nearly broke the deadlock on 56 minutes when Andy Butler’s powerful header was cleared off the line by Ian Black. It proved to be a vital block when Whalley scored direct from a corner to give Shrewsbury the lead six minutes later. And Andy Williams somehow headed Grant’s corner over from three yards out before Leutwiler superbly palmed away Cameron Stewart’s free-kick in stoppage time.