Grant McCann delighted as Doncaster stay calm to beat Bradford

Grant McCann was delighted to see his Doncaster players keep calm heads in their 3-1 win over Bradford.

McCann expected a fervent atmosphere at the Eco-Power Stadium as the Yorkshire rivals met with both having enjoyed strong starts following promotion to League One.

And he was delighted with the composure showed by Rovers, with goals from Luke Molyneux, Jordan Gibson and Billy Sharp securing the victory and inflicting a first defeat of the campaign on the Bantams.

“I thought it was an excellent performance,” Rovers boss McCann said. “Bradford came into the game six unbeaten in the league so we knew it was going to be a tough game.

“I just said to the boys before the game to keep your emotions in check. You know what to expect with this sort of the game, big crowd, big away following, two teams in really good form. We just needed to show calm and composure and we did that.

“The first half was outstanding. I was disappointed we didn’t add to it in the second half but we were excellent in what we did do and we were controlled. We didn’t concede many chances.

“I thought we were outstanding. It was a fantastic all-round team performance with three very good goals from Mols, Jordan and Billy. The three front lads were excellent.

“The fans were outstanding and I could hear them all afternoon. Hopefully they enjoyed that one.”

Bradford manager Graham Alexander felt his side lacked their typical intensity and left themselves too much to do after the break.

“I think we’ve helped the opposition in a massive way by not competing at the level we have been doing previously,” Alexander said.

“We were passive in certain situations, not dealing with long balls and it’s cost us as a result. The structure was good, the press was good but if we can’t deal with long balls and win the first contacts, it’s going to be a long season.

“We’ve done that well in most of the games so far so it’s a lesson for us today.

“We’ve been strong on a competitive level but we’ve seen with the goals that we’ve conceded, if we don’t have the intensity we need, it’s going to cost us. We can’t be yards off people, it has to be inches.

“I had a look at the duel data in the first half and I knew it was going to be low. It was 30 per cent and in the second half it was 70. It tells you everything you need to know.”