Grant McCann apologises for getting sent off in the 41st minute as Doncaster beat Tranmere

Grant McCann apologises for getting sent off in the 41st minute as Doncaster Rovers beat Tranmere Rovers on Friday night.

His side took the lead on 27 minutes, with Ben Close feeding the ball forward to put Zain Westbrooke into space on the right of the box and he picked out Harrison Biggins in the middle to slot home.

Tranmere should have got an equaliser just before half time, Harvey Saunders seeing his close-range header brilliantly saved by Doncaster keeper Louis Jones.

The visitors continued to look dangerous in the second half and extended their lead in the 57th minute when Mo Faal got onto a defensive error to flick the ball home.

Donny had a slight scare when Connor Jennings got the hosts back into things on 70 minutes, putting the ball past Jones from the edge of the box.

Tranmere kept trying to push on, and went close when Jennings’ effort went just over the bar.

Doncaster managed to hold on for the win, this fifth from their last seven League Two games.

Doncaster assistant Cliff Byrne said, as per Doncaster Free Press: “It’s a new one to me, a new one to us as a staff.

“He’s fully apologised and appreciates the support the fans have given us as a staff and as a team.

“He just deviated where the ball went and it’s an instant red card. I had a chat with the referee and he was very empathetic but he said ‘the rule is the rule’.”

“Any away win in this league is always pleasing.

His side had 15 players unavailable due to injury ahead of the game, and lost defender Joseph Olowu to a leg injury in the warm-up.

“We only trained one day this week because we had an illness that we felt we wanted to protect the rest of the group from,” Byrne said. “So we only trained Monday and arrived for the game on Friday.

“I think that laboured on a few of the lads, but you wouldn’t have seen that.

“It’s a credit to the players because they’ve had to look after themselves away from the training ground and be professional with fluid intake, recovery and everything that goes with it.

“We turned up at Tranmere, on a fantastic surface by the way. Credit to the groundstaff in the conditions we had. And it was a right good game. It was a difficult game against a difficult Tranmere team that are strong at home.

“There were times when we got the lucky break and a lucky block here and there but I believe that if you go out with the right intentions, they’re the rewards that you get.

“We changed one or two things personnel-wise to combat what they had done because they brought on three really strong players in the forward positions.

“We felt we needed to nullify that and wrestle back control of the game which I felt we did towards the end of the game.”

“It hurts. I thought once we made the substitutions in the second half we’d go on and get something from the game,” said Tranmere’s Nigel Adkins post-match.

“I should’ve made a change after 15 minutes. When Paul Lewis came on it freed Regan Hendry who was far better in an advanced position.

“[For the first goal] They got a bit of freedom down the right side. Just stay with your man. Hasn’t done it, and they’ve scored a goal from it. Second half, they can’t score the second goal. Two cheap goals we’ve given the opposition.

“There was an impetus once we made the changes. The SWA got right behind the players, they did everything they could to lift the team.

“We’ve got to reflect on it. It’s not nice losing. The first person you look at is yourself.”

THE FA’S SENDING-OFF OFFENCES

A player is sent off and shown the red card if he commits any of the following offences:

– S1 is guilty of serious foul play
– S2 is guilty of violent conduct
– S3 spits at an opponent or any other person
– S4 denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goal-scoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball (this does not apply to a goalkeeper within his own penalty area)
– S5 denies an obvious goal-scoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick
– S6 uses offensive, insulting or abusive language
– S7 receives a second blue/yellow card in the same match

If play is stopped for a player to be sent from the playing area without having committed any additional infringement of the Laws, the game is restarted by an indirect free kick, awarded to the opposing team, to be taken at the place where the infringement occurred. However, if the offence is committed in the penalty area, the indirect free kick is taken from the penalty area line at the place nearest to where the infringement occurred.

Here’s how fans reacted as Grant McCann apologises for getting sent off in the 41st minute while Doncaster beat Tranmere…

@RedMoshMan_RTID: Red card for that proves there’s a vendetta out against us with refs. Like @RobbieAndrews8 said, “if a player does that it’s yellow.” So what’s the difference. @EFL sort ya refs out now!

@challo_drfc: A red for that WOW!

@MightyroverMatt: 100% going to be appealing that one, never red card worthy, yellow maybe but never a red

@drfc_ross: thought it was silly (which obviously it was) but a straight red wow

@Lee_Hodgkinson: Clever knock of the ball away to prevent the quick throw. Should be applauded 👏⚽️

@Dylanshaw25: I love this man me

@AdeleScorpions: Absolute nonsense

@MC_Thunda: How is knocking the ball away a few yards when out of play a red card like?

@OJuicy360: Absolute farce

@critch243: a straight red card for kicking the ball away, who did it kill when McCann flicked it? … @EFL your inability to manage the leagues is unbelievably poor…

@djoftherovers: Wow, let’s see if a player gets sent off for kicking ball away

@AdamBat92308251: That is not a red. Nothing in the rules says the ref has any reason to give a red. Local ref upset his team is losing

@NJScully: Cannot see how that is a straight red, even a yellow would have been harsh. Why is it that every week refs up and down the country are consistently putting in poor performances. Managers would get sacked why don’t refs ?

@southstandclez: Officials are shite in league 2 shocking

@Gazz_TheRover: Does a player get a straight red for kicking the ball away? @EFL ? Every week there is an appalling decision #drfc

@ryanjohnson303: Straight red for tapping the ball away, what a joke, football is completely ruined.

@ChirpsByJames: He really needs to stop this

@abcdefgharry_: deeply unserious footballing league