Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson was very complementary of Grant McCann and his side following their 2-0 win over Rovers in the Emirates FA Cup.
The former England manager saw his side score twice in the first-half to seal progression into the quarter-finals for the Eagles, but Hodgson says he was impressed with what Rovers threw at his Premier League side.
“It was a very tough game, a tough game that we were prepared for, we knew that Doncaster Rovers were a good football team, we’d done a fair amount of research to know that and luckily, I managed to get that across to my players,” he said.
“I thought both teams tried to play some very good football, there were some good moves from both sides, and both were able to get the ball down and get some amount of control in the game during different spells.
“We couldn’t have any complaints over complacency, but Doncaster were every bit as good as I thought they would be, perhaps even slightly better than that, they handled the pitch a lot better than we did and that made it an even game.”
Sunday’s fifth-round tie with the Premier League side was a sell out at the Keepmoat Stadium, and Hodgson also felt McCann’s side really stepped up to the mark on the big occasion.
“I spoke to Grant McCann in his room just after the match and told him he should be very proud of his team, I don’t think they could’ve really done much more to try and go out there and win the game,” he added.
“It could’ve been a difficult game for us, there were 14,000 fans here, most of which were obviously backing Doncaster, both sets of fans were a credit to their clubs because the atmosphere was great.”
Rovers will be back at the Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday March 2, when they welcome fellow promotion contenders Charlton Athletic in Sky Bet League One. Tickets are available online by visiting tickets.clubdoncaster.co.uk, over the phone, or by visiting the Club Doncaster Box Office.