Cotterill: We were terrific

Steve Cotterill was delighted with Bristol City after they bounced back from defeat with a hard-earned 3-1 victory at Doncaster.

The League Two leaders led 2-0 at half-time and finished Rovers off with a third goal after the home side had threatened a comeback when substitute Curtis Main scored a scorcher in the 59th minute. Cotterill said: "We've come to one of the toughest places to play in League One, because Doncaster are a very good team, but we've put on a great performance. "I thought we were terrific in terms of our endeavour, commitment and determination. "The fans played their part as well and I want to thank every one of them for making the journey. "We showed our character and that's why we're top of the league because we have something special going on at our club with the togetherness among the players. "You have to stand up and be strong when you come to Doncaster and we did that, scored three great goals and played with real determination. "It was a top-class performance and it's important we stay focused now. "We are delighted with where we are in the table - we've gone five points clear at the top - but we have to finish the job." City took the lead in the 10th minute when Luke Freeman cashed in after the ball had bounced to him off a defender and fired home after Doncaster goalkeeper Stephen Bywater had hesitated as he came off his line to try and block the shot. They made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute when Paul Butler brought down Kieran Agard and Glen Cunningham confidently smashed home the spot-kick. Doncaster battled back strongly in the second half and substitute Main grabbed the goal of the game when he hit a 20-yard thunderbolt in off the crossbar. Rovers tried hard to pinch an equaliser but they were caught up field when Aaron Wilbraham added the third in the 69th minute with a well-placed angled shot following Cunningham's pinpoint cross. Doncaster boss Paul Dickov said: "We can take a lot of heart from our second-half display when we more than matched the team at the top of the league. "But I wasn't happy at all about our first-half performance and it's probably the maddest I've been in the dressing room at half-time. "We were very poor and gave away two silly goals but we showed our mettle when we hit back in the second half and caused them all sorts of problems. "I have to be careful what I say but I wasn't happy with the performance of the match officials and some of the decisions during the game. "But it wasn't because of that that we lost the match and we can't blame them for the defeat. "We can't keep giving away goals like we did here but prior to the last two games we have played particularly well and we are still within touching distance of the play-off places. "We have to take the positives and the players can take a lot of credit from the way they fought back in the second half."