'A joke' - This is what angered Lincoln City's boss in stalemate with Doncaster Rovers

Michael Appleton could not hide his frustration following the goalless draw between his Lincoln City side and Doncaster Rovers.
Michael Appleton. Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty ImagesMichael Appleton. Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images
Michael Appleton. Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images

The Imps kept their first clean sheet of the season at the Keepmoat Stadium.

But Appleton was far from impressed with the performance of his attacking players – claiming his team should have had the game sewn up by half time.

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Anthony Scully and Dan Nlundulu both wasted decent first half chances and Lasse Sorensen saw his header well saved by Rovers goalkeeper Louis Jones.

“We should have been out of sight in the first half so I’m a little bit angry about that,” said Appleton.

“I’m disappointed with the opportunities we let slip in that first half. A couple of criminal decisions by our forward players.

“A lot of people are quick to point the finger at defenders and back fours when you concede a goal.

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“But our attack-minded players have got to take responsibility. The fact we’ve not scored is a joke.”

He added: “It became a bit of a scrap in the second half but we allowed that because of what happened in the first half.

“From a performance point of view in the first half, I thought we were great, but the game is about putting the ball in the back of the net. It doesn’t matter what you do between both boxes sometimes.

“Some of those opportunities, you literally couldn’t ask to be in better positions. We were so wasteful.

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“If we want to have any kind of success – and I don’t know what that success looks like at the minute – but for any kind of success this season, we have to take opportunities and score goals.

“There was a lot of effort and determination, but I want quality. We had quality up until the box, but in the box, whether it was a shot or cross, it was just poor.

“It was annoying because they can’t get any more practice than what they get in training because most of the work we do is attacking play.”