Grant McCann hails ‘incredible’ Billy Sharp after Doncaster survive FA Cup scare

Grant McCann praised two-goal hero Billy Sharp after he saved Doncaster from a surprise FA Cup exit.

League Two Rovers trailed 1-0 at half-time to seventh tier Kettering after Isiah Noel-Williams’ tidy finish, but a brace from veteran Sharp spared their blushes.

The 38-year-old scored late on in normal time to send the tie to an extra 30 minutes, before notching what would prove to be the winner.

“I knew it was going to be a fight today,” said Rovers boss McCann.

“We lit a couple of fires for them really early on. And that just set the tone for the first half really.

“We wanted to play in behind and cause Kettering problems. Second half we had to change it because it’s getting on my nerves about how we have to keep reacting.

“The group need to start taking chances when they get them.

“Billy is just incredible and a great person for us to have around the changing room. I think that’s eight goals now which is a decent return for him.”

Noel-Williams’ strike threatened an almighty upset for Kettering when he picked Patrick Kelly’s pocket before scoring from range.

But Sharp had other ideas as he applied two typical poacher finishes to end Kettering’s fairytale run.

Their boss Richard Lavery said: “We’ve done our club proud today and our fans proud. We’ve taken Doncaster to the wire and just fallen at the final hurdle.

“I’m just gutted for the lads because we’ve shown we’re a good team. We showed it at Northampton and we’ve done it against Doncaster.

“We’ve beaten one league team and taken another to extra-time so I’m proud. I’m gutted we’ve lost but that’s football.

“This has put the club back on the map. I’m the worst loser in the world but I’ll have to take this on the chin.”