Russell Martin hopes rare Leicester win can be ‘really good’ for player morale

Russell Martin hopes Leicester experienced a coming of age moment during a much-needed and ultimately deserved 2-1 victory over Doncaster.

With captain John Lundstram and Kamari Doyle both producing superb finishes, City appeared to be cruising to only their third win of what has been an otherwise underwhelming start to the season under the former Rangers and Southampton manager.

But when Warren O’Hora turned the ball into his own net with five minutes of normal time remaining, as he tried to prevent Alfie May converting Brandon Hanlan’s centre, the hosts faced an anxious finale given the discontent surrounding results en route to the meeting with Grant McCann’s men.

Highlighting City’s response to that setback, Martin said: “Ideally, we would have scored a couple more goals because I think we warranted that. But yes, I actually think that period after they got one back will be really good for us.

“It tells the lads, ‘everything can be good, it can be fine’. They showed real composure and stayed calm.

“When they had to suffer, they suffered together and stayed really focused on what they had to do.

“I’m proud of them for doing that and very pleased for them, too.”

After Emil Riis had gone close, Lundstram’s powerful strike seconds before the break ensured City’s growing momentum did not go unrewarded. Doyle’s effort, just past the hour, was even more impressive as his curled home from the edge of the box.

Martin added: “I think we played some really good football but it’s all about basics, even more in League One and League Two because of what you come up against. Today, the players really did that.

“They’ve always periods of a match, even if you win four or 5-0, when it gets tough and you have to be tough.

“Today, we were tough and we have to live in this moment all the time now.”

McCann lamented Rovers’ failure to enter the second period all square.

“To concede when we did is really unacceptable,” he said. “I told the players that because, if we’d have stayed level, this place might have become a bit more edgy. I thought we were the better team for 30 minutes, then got a little bit sloppy and gave them the momentum.

“We started giving the ball away and I wanted to get in at half-time so we could address it. Then they scored from that kind of situation.

“To begin with, I thought we controlled it. We had worked on that game plan, because we were controlling the ball.”

“We just needed to take one of the opportunities that came our way and we didn’t manage to do that. We made it uncomfortable for ourselves during the closing stages of the first-half and that’s what has cost us the game.

“We’ve competed against the team with probably the biggest budget in the division. The goals, from our perspective, were disappointing.”