McDermott hails 'massive' win

Royals boss delighted as side earn two wins on the spin

By Jamie Casey   Last updated: 6th February 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

McDermott hails 'massive' win

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Reading boss Brian McDermott hailed his side's win over Doncaster as "massive" but will not get carried away with their back-to-back victories, while Sean O'Driscoll wants better defending.

Shane Long and Brian Howard combined with a goal and an assist each as the Royals battled to a 2-1 win at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Billy Sharp grabbed one back for the hosts after Mathew Mills was sent off for a deliberate handball with 10 minutes remaining.

With a man less and the pressure on, McDermott admits his side were nervous in the closing stages but he believes they were worthy of their win.

"It was massive," he told Sky Sports 1 of the win. "With six or seven minutes of injury time at the end there, it was terrific. I thought we were good value.

"I thought they started off really well, they had a lot of the ball and they're a decent side. So to come here and get that result is massive for us."

The hosts started the brighter and looked comfortable early on but gradually the Royals settled and began to create chances of their own.

Long's headed opener just before half-time set the team on their way to their second successive victory after last weekend's 1-0 win over Barnsley.

"Early on in the game they had a lot of the ball," reiterated McDermott.

"We couldn't really get the ball off them the way we wanted but then we started to turn it around and we started to get into the game.

Nervy

"I think we were good value for the goals. Shane again with a terrific goal from Brian's cross and then Brian finished. The last 10 minutes were a bit nervy."

It was midfielder Howard's first start since November and he was a key figure in most of Reading's attacking moves.

McDermott admits that the 27-year-old has been concerned about his lack of game time but was pleased with his showing.

"He's been terrific," added the Royals boss, who took charge of the club permanently at the end of January.

"I've spoken to Brian two or three times (about playing) and I know he's a good player and he's made one and scored one today so I was really, really pleased for him."

Reading now sit just one point shy of safety in the Championship table and face a huge week ahead as they first host relegation rivals Plymouth in the league before continuing their FA Cup run at home to West Brom on Saturday.

"They're all important," said McDermott of their upcoming fixtures. "We've got Plymouth now then we've got West Brom so we're really looking forward to the next week."

Doncaster boss O'Driscoll said: "I think we are used to coming into press rooms having dominated, looking at positives.

"We could have done better with the goals but I cannot fault anyone's effort."