Mixed feelings for managers after Stevenage-Doncaster stalemate

Both Alex Revell and Grant McCann were pleased defensively after a 0-0 draw between Stevenage and Doncaster – but both wanted more in the attacking third.

Neither side created too much in the way of chances, with a first-half effort from Rovers’ Harry Clifton that was kicked away by Filip Marschall the best either could manage.

But the Donny boss was taking the positives despite their sequence without a win moving to 10 games.

McCann said: “We’ve worked hard defensively with the group this week. [Stevenage are] really strong from set-plays, the best in the division, but we dealt with everything that was thrown at us.

“Our line was good, we caught them offside quite a lot. That was really good. We limited a team in the top six of League One to one, maybe one half-chance.

“From an attacking point of view, I felt we rushed things a little bit too much, hence why we didn’t get the goal, albeit we had probably the best two chances of the game.”

He now wants his side to take the confidence from the performance into their next games.

He added: “I said this after Reading, we need to build off this. Any point away from home is a good point in this division and I stand by that, but we need to be better at home, we need to be taking games away from teams at home.

“We can’t be going 1-0 up and losing 2-1 or going 1-0 up and drawing at home. To be successful in this division, you need to win games at home.”

Opposite number Revell feels his side have to learn different ways to be successful as more and more opponents try to stifle them.

The Stevenage boss said: “People have to realise that teams are going to come here and make it really difficult for us. That’s the target that you put on your head when you have the start we had.

“They all say when you come here, this is a difficult game. They have to do to us what we want to do to teams.

“That’s credit to our group but we now have to make sure that when that does happen, we find another way of winning games.

“And that just comes from a bit more calmness. It comes from changing from being that direct, forward-thinking team to maybe having to keep the ball at times and moving it quicker.

“We didn’t do that enough. At times it was rushed and passes were going astray.

“It’s very, very difficult to build your game when you don’t have that control in a game.”