Boss McCann’s relief as Rovers fight back to see off Kettering Town in FA Cup

Doncaster Rovers boss Grant McCann was a relieved man after seeing his team battle back from being 1-0 down to beating Kettering Town 2-1 after extra-time in the FA Cup second round on Sunday.

The Rovers boss was not a happy man after the opening 45 minutes, with his side trailing 1-0 to a fantastic opportunistic goal from Isiah Noel-Williams, but he was delighted with how his team responded.

Billy Sharp was the main man for the south Yorkshire club, netting a close range equaliser on 75 minutes, and then firing home the winner midway through extra-time to take Rovers into the hat for the third round.

McCann had been to watch the Poppies ahead of Sunday's clash so knew what to expect at Latimer Park on Sunday lunchtime, and he admitted he was just happy his team 'got the job done'.

"It was always going to be a fight," said McCann.

"We spoke to the players during the week when we were preparing for this game, that we had watched Kettering numerous times and we knew what they were about and we knew what the pitch was like.

"The facilities are great so I wasn't too bothered about that, but it was just that the pitch was a bit boggy and the weather wasn't the greatest, so I knew it was going to be tough for us.

"We lit a couple of fires early on, we took an extra touch and let them get in, and that just set the tone for the first 25, 30 minutes of the game, probably the whole first-half to be honest.

"We didn't want to play like that, we wanted to get in behind them and cause them problems, and in the second half we had to change it.

"We wanted to play much better than we showed in the first half, we kept giving away silly free-kicks, we kept getting the ball taken off us when we were playing sideways passes in the midfield.

"Everything was wrong in the first half and I wasn't pleased, but what I was pleased with was the response in the second half.

"The lads got it done in extra-time, and it was great for Billy to get a couple of goals."

The match was shown live across the nation on BBC2, and McCann added: "The cameras were at the game because they are hoping for the upset.

"Kettering had one opportunity in the first half and they scored from it, and we gave it to them after they took the ball off us.

"I am just delighted we responded and got the job done.

"We didn't want to be the story, we just wanted to be through to the next round and then nobody will remember this game in a day or two.

"We wanted to get through via whatever way it took, and fortunately we did that."