Gary Bowyer heartened by Burton’s second-half show in draw at Doncaster

Burton manager Gary Bowyer said his opinion on the value of his side’s draw at Doncaster shifted dramatically between half-time and the final whistle.

Burton trailed 1-0 at the break courtesy of Matty Pearson’s header with the hosts firmly in control of the Sky Bet League One contest.

But Bowyer’s side were a different prospect in the second half and deservedly earned a 1-1 draw through substitute Tyrese Shade, although they could easily have won the game.

Bowyer said: “How we were first half, you’d be pleased with a point.  But how we were second half, you’re disappointed not to take all three.

“They were running harder than us in the first half and for us that is never acceptable.

“We needed to do something at half-time to inject something into the game. The triple substitution seemed to do that because straight away we got in behind and then that set the tempo for the second half.

“We were far too passive in the first half. I’m not sure if the win at Cardiff in midweek had an effect but I said to them at half-time we can’t change the fixture list and have to get on with it and dig deep.

“They really did that in the second half and with the chances we had, we could easily have won it.”

Grant McCann was left frustrated by a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ performance from his Doncaster side as they failed to follow up a strong first half.

The hosts were much the stronger side in the opening 45 minutes but only had Pearson’s header to show for their efforts and they did not deal with an improved showing from Burton, who fought their way back into the contest.

“It was chalk and cheese from us across the two halves,” McCann said. “It was a very good first half and we did everything that we’d asked the lads to do.

“We should have been out of sight – three or four up without exaggeration but we came in at half-time at 1-0, which is always a dodgy scoreline.

“And we just never got going in the second half. The only change to the game was that they changed from a low block and started pressing us.

“We just shirked a bit of responsibility and accountability in the second half whether that was taking the ball and making things happen.

“Credit to Burton because they were good in the second half.

“We’re continually searching for that consistent performance over a longer spell than just 45 minutes.

“A lot of times this season we’ve shown it for 45 minutes, whether it’s first or second half but we haven’t been quite at the races for more of it and at this level you’ve got to take your chances when you are on top because other teams will definitely hurt you.”