We missed our chance, says rueful McSheffrey

GARY McSheffrey was left to lament a “missed opportunity” after Doncaster’s stalemate against fellow strugglers Fleetwood.

The Rovers boss hailed the clean sheet as the main plus-point, but suggested they might have nicked all three points had their decision-making been better in attack.

“It feels like a missed opportunity,” he said. “The way we played in the first half, we should have gone in ahead. We had some opportunities and good efforts, but we didn’t make the right decision with the final pass or the final shot. Those are the fine margins.

“The game got a bit scrappy in the second half. The wind picked up and we were giving away a lot of fouls, so it was important we didn’t lose.

“We’ve kept a clean sheet, which is obviously a positive. We’d have loved to have won it, but if you can’t win, then you don’t lose.”

It was perhaps no surprise that clearcut openings were scarce, as Fleetwood had lost their previous five games and Doncaster came to Highbury as the division’s lowest scorers.

The visitors’ best chance came five minutes before the break, Jordy Hiwula seeing a shot from the edge of the box saved by Kieran O’Hara.

Cian Hayes was Fleetwood’s main threat. He fired an early chance over the bar and forced a sharp save out of Johnny Mitchell with a fierce shot from a tight angle, the keeper pushing it over.

The second half was equally short on chances, though a good one fell to Doncaster sub Ben Jackson. Ignoring runners on either side, he tried his luck from distance, but O’Hara got down well.

Fleetwood also had openings to break the deadlock, but Harrison Biggins shot wide, Hayes was thwarted by a good save and Ged Garner snatched wildly at a late chance.

Fleetwood manager Stephen Crainey said: “I’ve got mixed feelings about the draw. Before the game, we obviously wanted to win and get three points and we didn’t get that.

“Of late we’ve been playing really good football and not getting the rewards from it. I didn’t think we played that well, but we got a point so we’ll take that as a positive. We can do better and we will do better in future.”