Doncaster manager Grant McCann has not held back with his criticism of some of his side’s defending against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Tottenham beat Doncaster 3-0 in the third round of the Carabao Cup, with Joao Palhinha opening the scoring with a lovely overhead kick.
That was then followed by an own goal from Jay McGrath, which really infuriated McCann.
It was quite an intriguing game, with Thomas Frank putting out a strong team and making some interesting decisions. For example, Frank decided to start Palhinha in defence despite the Portuguese being a midfielder.

Grant McCann unhappy Doncaster allowed Wilson Odobert to enter their box
Spurs’ second goal was the result of some terrific wing play by Wilson Odobert, who took the ball into Doncaster’s box before putting in a cross that the League One side ended up turning into their own net.
McCann was far from happy with the defending he saw, stating that he would rather see his full-back engage and get beaten than back off and allow his man to enter the box.
In a post-match interview, McCann said: “The second one is just, yeah, it’s poor really. To let the wide player take us into the box…
“I know they’re good players, I know they’re Premier League players, but I say to both full-backs and I said to them at half-time, Jack and Tom — and Jamie and Maxi will know this as well — I’d rather them engage early and get beat rather than wide players being in the box.”
In the end, Tottenham just had too much quality for Doncaster. The moment that Palhinha got that early goal, they were always going to be in trouble.
Wolverhampton Wanderers should provide a much sterner test for Spurs this Saturday when they travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Wilson Odobert’s wing play against Doncaster was quality
Odobert can be pleased with his performance on Wednesday. Right now, Odobert seems to be above Mathys Tel in the pecking order for the left-wing position, and the former Burnley man will stay there with displays like his most recent one.
Doncaster could perhaps have defended a bit better, but Odobert was still direct and went towards his man.
Ultimately, it was confident wing play and Frank will be hoping to see more of that as the season progresses. The French youngster could end up developing into a really exciting wide attacker.
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