Hunt happy after 10-man Wolves escape with draw
Doncaster Rovers 2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Their prioity may be Premier League survival but Wolverhampton Wanderers were relieved to have avoided a banana skin on Saturday. Manager Mick McCarthy's wisecracking mood in his post-match press conference was proof after Stephen Hunt's 58th-minute penalty equaliser – following Sam Hird's trip on Matt Jarvis – earned a replay for the visiting team.
Hunt was delighted with a 2-2 draw. "Even though we are Premier League, we should never be arrogant about this kind of tie," he said. "Donny are one of the better sides in the Championship and have a reputation for passing the ball and they underlined that again. It keeps the momentum going and gets us into the habit of not losing, so hanging on for a replay with 10 men was good in those circumstances."
Wolves finished a man down after George Elokobi's 77th-minute dismissal by referee Anthony Taylor for a wild-looking aerial challenge on James Coppinger. Doncaster failed to profit from Elokobi's departure to reclaim their first-half supremacy – when they recovered from Nenad Milijas' spectacular 30-yard opener with strikes from Billy Sharp and James Hayter in a three-minute spell before the break.
Hayter retains hope of Doncaster's first top-flight FA Cup scalp in 26 years. "I don't see any reason why we cannot win," he said of next Tuesday's trip to Molineux. "The last time we played there [in May 2009] it was a tight game. We gave them a run for their money and we will be hoping to do so again."
Doncaster Rovers (3-5-2): Sullivan; Hird, O'Connor, Lockwood; Chambers (Friend 65), Coppinger, Oster, Wilson, Mills; Sharp, Hayter (Brooker 90). Substitutes not used G Woods (gk), M Woods, Webster, Fairhurst.
Booked Sullivan, Oster.
Wolverhampton Wanderers (4-4-2): Hahnemann; Doherty, Stearman, Berra, Elokobi; Jarvis, Edwards (Jones 28), Milijas, Hunt; Ward, Fletcher (Doyle 69). Substitutes not used Hennessey (gk), Muganji-Bia, Davis, Winwall, Batth.
Booked Milijas. Sent off Elokobi (77).
Possession Doncaster 53% Wolves 47%.
Shots on target Doncaster 3 Wolves 7.
Man of the match O'Connor. Match rating 7/10.
Referee A Taylor (Cheshire). Attendance 8,616.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments