McDonald: Potts owed me that display

The Spireites equalised just two minutes after Potts had fired Pool ahead early in the second half, his first goal in eight games.

And manager McDonald was quick to point out it’s about time.

He said: “Brad owed us that performance. He hasn’t played well lately and wasn’t as good as he can be in recent weeks.

“But I thought he was excellent. Everything he did was positive. He drove us forward and deserved his goal.

“That’s what he’s good at and that’s what we want him to be doing.

“He knows he’s been off the boil lately and I thought that was a fantastic performance.”

While many left the Proact Stadium feeling much more positive after a decent display, Shrewsbury’s win over Rochdale dropped Pool into the League One relegation zone.

And Fleetwood Town opened up a four-point gap on their Fylde coast neighbours with a second successive 2-1 win, at home to Gillingham.

McDonald felt his side deserved more. He said: “It was an excellent point but one we were very disappointed to get.

“We created lots of chances and on another day could have won the game comfortably, but it was a good battling performance.”

Particularly in the first half, Pool took the game to their hosts as Potts, Tom Aldred and David Norris all hit the woodwork.

A switch to 4-3-3 saw Pool look much more positive and left boss McDonald in a much better mood.

“We hit the bar and the post a couple of times in the first half, and then we have a very good chance with Brad near the end,” he said.

“I think it was probably the best passing and attacking performance of the season.

“When we did break through, we managed to hit the woodwork. I thought we opened them up and got through them really well. We could have been out of sight.”

For the second time in four days, Pool had a defender sent off at the end as David Ferguson received a second yellow card in the last minute.

While there was no disputing the second booking, McDonald feels the first was harsh.

“I’ve watched his first one back and for me he got the ball cleanly,” he said. “It’s a shame as I thought David did excellently on his return.”