Doncaster Rovers 3-1 Wycombe Wanderers

Doncaster Rovers 3-1 Wycombe Wanderers
Sky Bet League One
Saturday 29th February 2020

As victories go, this was relatively straightforward for Doncaster Rovers who overcame a terribly slow start to deservedly beat promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers.

Niall Ennis got the opener on the stroke of half-time before substitute Adebayo Akinfenwa drew Gareth Ainsworth's side level midway through the second period. Rovers weren't to be denied though as Kieran Sadlier quickly restored an advantage and Jason McCarthy's own goal wrapped things up in the closing stages of the game.

On the whole, I was somewhat underwhelmed by Wycombe who started really well without actually creating a vast amount of danger. Their hard-work, pressing and endeavour was evident and they were also well-drilled in gamesmanship-type tactics yet at the same time they seemed to lack quality when it was needed and relied on set-piece situations a bit too much. I've listened to Ainsworth's post-match interview and find some of what he's said at odds with what I saw. Based on this complete display then I'd be surprised if they won promotion; Yes, there were some good aspects to their game, but other aspects were flat - surely they can perform better?

Whilst Wanderers' performance was debatable, there's no denying Rovers began slowly and improved as things progressed and by the final whistle, they could have easily bagged another goal or had a penalty in injury-time. There was some good individual displays across the pitch - notably from captain Ben Whiteman, goalscorer Sadlier and Danny Amos who was drafted in at left-back. Winger Jason Lokilo, on loan from Crystal Palace, also deserves a mention for his terrific back-post cross which brought about the third goal and, essentially, wrapped up the win.

It was a bitterly cold afternoon at the Keepmoat Stadium despite perfect blue skies for Rovers' first fixture on 29th February since the 1990s and in the opening half-hour, the hosts' performance was barely lukewarm as the visitors dominated possession, pressed well, chased things down and looked quite promising. A spate of three-blocked shots in quick succession from an attack which began on the right flank and a teasing, dipping and in-swinging corner by Joe Jacobson (which had Seny Dieng worried) was as close as the visitors came though.

Donny gradually improved and almost had an opened when Amos' left-foot free-kick was fumbled by the away 'keeper who then did enough to distract Joe Wright on the rebound.

That chance was a turning point of sorts and in the lead up towards half-time, Amos went on a weaving run from the left channel just inside the Wycombe half to a central position on the edge of the area - twisting, turning, showing good skill and doing a fancy pirouette to keep the ball, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, a defender made a crucial interception.

Rovers took the lead just three minutes later when Ennis rode a challenge in the box thanks to some nifty footwork, opened up a shooting angle and finished with aplomb - having initially been put through on goal following some good build-up play between Madger Gomes and Ben Whiteman.

Amos and Jacob Ramsey were both denied during three minutes of first half injury-time as Donny led 1-0 at the break - some might say 'fortuitously' but again, for all Wycombe's pressure during their 25-30 minutes on top, they hadn't really tested Dieng.

In the second half, Darren Moore's team maintained their tempo from how they'd finished the first half and went in search of a second goal - coming close when visiting 'keeper Ryan Allsop raced off his line to reach Devante Cole's defence-splitting through ball towards Ramsey, and closer again as Tom Anderson had a header scrambled off the goal-line.

It wasn't long until Adebayo Akinfenwa (replacing Alex Samuel who'd been kept very quiet) was introduced and the big, powerful frontman immediately became a focal point for Wanderers' attacks and it paid dividends when he capitalised on some sloppiness at the 'second phase' following a corner, spun and unleashed a low snap-shot from the edge of the box which went in.

With a quarter of the game to go, you'd have probably fancied Wycombe more than Rovers at this point but the script was ripped up within five minutes of Akinfenwa's equaliser when Kieran Sadlier peeled away at the back-post into an offside position (as clear as anything) to meet Whiteman's set-piece delivery from 30 yards out and tapped home.

Any momentum which the visitors had was now extinguished; Rovers were moving the ball around well, showing confidence and belief, and a third goal arrived when a sumptuous, inviting back-post cross from the right flank by Jason Lokilo was inadvertently knocked into his own net by McCarthy - an unfortunate own-goal but one which put the result to bed.

Wycombe could barely muster anything up in the final few minutes and, instead, Rovers would have had an opportunity to score a fourth goal if the referee hadn't controversially waved away a huge shout for a penalty appeal when Devante Cole was hacked down inside the box. It looked blatant and an easy decision to make, but the officials weren't convinced and having actually viewed the incident back on replays, it does appear the defender got a touch on the ball.

A lot of frustration was directed towards the referee, Mr David Rock, throughout the game from home supporters who felt he either let too many challenges go entirely unpunished or was too quick to blow his whistle when a Wycombe player went down.

Certainly, it was a tactic from visiting players to go down, scream as loud as possible and claim they'd been caught in a deliberate attempt to deceive the officials. It happened three or four times, usually the player was up straight away if they got awarded the free-kick and on one occasion, Gareth Ainsworth even gave it the old thumbs up to Paul Smyth when he'd done it. Some people will call it cheating but for me, it's gamesmanship. It happens at all levels, everywhere, to varying extents and it's not altogether different from an incident around the hour mark when Niall Ennis purposely prevented the Wycombe manager retrieving a loose ball and giving it to one of his players so he could take a quick throw-in.

I've got no problems with Wanderers' tactics - a lot of fans might whinge, whine and complain about it, but often they're the same fans who wouldn't bat an eye-lid if the players of whatever team they support then do exactly the same thing. If Wycombe feel they can 'succeed' by these tactics then fair enough - let them get on with it!

Ultimately, it's down to the officials to not be deceived, yet Mr Rock was fooled on multiple occasions - even after Darren Moore had brought it to the Fourth Official during the first half after the incident with Smyth (which happened on the near touchline). It didn't go down well and the referee seemed inconsistent, if not stupid, with his decision-making because he got plenty wrong (for both teams) and it was best summed up by the 'stone-wall' fouls on Jacob Ramsey and Danny Amos which weren't given and the penalty incident in injury-time which is open for debate.

I don't like criticising officials because it's easy to watch a game from the sidelines or view highlights and point fingers of blame, however, it was the worst display of officiating that I've seen at a Football League fixture this season. It was bad - on a par with Trevor Kettle, Mick Russell, Darren Drysdale or Graham Salisbury type of bad; inconsistent, controversial and unacceptable.

The irony is that Wycombe, who benefited from Mr Rock's ineptitude quite a few times during the afternoon, will themselves feel hard done by given that Rovers' second goal was converted from an offside position.

Some fans will now wonder, given the win and decent performance, whether the team can now make up ground on the top six and challenge for a play-off spot. Whilst it sounds nice, idealistic and plausible (in the eyes of some) the likelihood is that it won't happen, it's a long shot and the remaining games should just be enjoyed without any pressure, expectation or fear.

The team is probably about where they deserve to be when everything is taken into consideration so whatever happens in the next two months, happens, and it's easier to just enjoy the ride without getting carried away.

On a personal note (with some statistics to send you to sleep if you've managed to read this far), today was my 987th competitive game in the United Kingdom - meaning that I've still got 13 games to go if I'm to clock up 1,000 games by the end of the season. In those 987 games, I've seen 2,501 goals, which is an average of 2.53 goals per game, and Kieran Sadlier's today was the 2,500th.

Good night, sleep tight - and hopefully Mr Rock won't give you nightmares!

Freezing in Warsaw

Legia Warsaw 0-2 Jagiellonia Bialystok
Polish Ekstraklasa
Tuesday 27th February 2018

What is the coldest that you've ever been at a football match?

It's a question which has been asked countless times over the years and quite often it's the same coastal grounds which crop up in response such as Hartlepool United or Grimsby Town. Oldham Athletic is also another common answer given that Boundary Park always seems to be freezing cold - irrespective of what time of year you happen to be there!

Before this trip abroad, my own answer would have been either a Scottish Premier League midweek match in November 2010 when Dundee United lost to St Mirren or just a month later when Doncaster Rovers beat Middlesbrough on a frozen Keepmoat Stadium pitch.

However, those games don't have anything on when Legia Warsaw versus Jagiellonia Bialystok during the infamous icy blast called 'Beast from the East'.

In Poland, temperatures were -13/-14 overnight and still sub-zero during daylight hours - thus meaning it was the type of coldness where you got frostbite if you had your hands out of your pockets for any longer than a minute or two. It was so cold the Vistula River, which flows through the city, had frozen over and despite 'tripling up' with three layers of clothes and wearing thick gloves during the game, it still felt, quite literally, Baltic!

I'd planned the trip several weeks in advance to coincide with football and flew into the Polish capital from Bologna on the Monday afternoon after spending a long weekend in Northern Italy.

Legia are one of Poland's most successful clubs and arguably their most famous, having clinched 13 league titles and qualified for the UEFA Champions League as well. They play at the quirky-named 'Polish Army Stadium' which is located on the southern edge of the city around four kilometres (about a 45-minute stroll) from the picturesque tourist hot-spots of the 'Old Town'.

The fixture promised intrigue as Legia's opponents Jagiellonia (who'd never won any silverware previously and were a somewhat 'run of the mill' team) had emerged as very unlikely title contenders following some decent form earlier in the season. It wasn't quite a six-pointer 'winner takes it all' title-decider type contest, though it was very much a clash between two decent sides who you knew would be challenging at the top come the final day.

Even though it was freezing outdoors and the iced-over pavements were lined with lumps of snow every few yards, having wrapped up as much as possible, I decided to walk to the stadium and it was easy/straightforward to find with the benefit of a map.

Tickets for the 'big' game were 55 Polish Zloty (equivalent to £12) in the side stand and cheaper in the Ultras Section behind the goal. Though it's tempting to sometimes go for the cheapest option, it's always worth remembering that fans on the continent are a bit more tapped in the head compared to their English counterparts and trivial stuff like pulling out a camera phone is likely to be met with scornful responses, if not confrontation, so it's usually worth paying that little bit extra - and besides, it's still cheaper than most matches in England!

Having arrived at the stadium quite early compared to others to allow time for the Passport/ID tickets and to avoid potential queues, I was thankful there was an indoor course which was relatively warm compared to outside where temperatures had been below freezing all day and were just getting worse now that it was past sunset.

It was whilst in the concourse that news filtered through from back home that Steve Evans had quit my old club Mansfield Town to take over as manager at Peterborough United (who at the time were in the division above). Regrettably, I never got to work under Evans, but I can relate to some of the internal issues he faced in the job and it wasn't a surprise that he jumped ship.

The supporters didn't like it and trotted out the usual 'Judas' and 'Traitor' bull sh*t in the wake of his departure and whined about loyalty like most fans everywhere seem to do in this scenario. However, given the guy was based in Peterborough anyway, was offered more money by a bigger club and could have quite easily been sacked at the end of that 2017/18 season had he failed to win promotion, then who could really blame him for his decision to leave? It didn't work out at Peterborough - that's football, but the irony is that Evans is managing in League One right now (at Gillingham) whereas Mansfield still haven't reached that level. Had he stayed put, in my opinion, he'd have probably achieved automatic promotion, but he didn't, David Flitcroft was poached from Swindon as his replacement and the rest is history.

Anyway, whilst I was chuckling to myself and reading enraged fans spout their bitterness towards the big bloke, it was still bloody freezing in Warsaw as it approached kick-off at 8.30pm.

Jagiellonia were backed by a decent number of travelling fans and wore a red and yellow kit which was distinctive and reminded me of RC Lens. The surprise title-challengers played the better football, created more openings and ran rings around their more well-known hosts. Had it not been for some poor finishing, they could quite easily have won by three or four goals, but as it was they went 1-0 up early on and then finally struck again in the dying minutes to get the victory.

Legia did have the last laugh, nonetheless, as they went on to clinch the league title on the final day of the season ahead of Jagiellonia!

Doncaster Rovers (U23s) 2-2 Exeter City (U23s)

Doncaster Rovers (U23s) 2-2 Exeter City (U23s)
Premier League Cup
Monday 24th February 2020

Louis Jones' exceptional goalkeeping display ensured Doncaster Rovers earned a point against a dominant Exeter City in their final group stage clash in the Premier League Cup.

The young shot-stopper made a series of good saves to thwart the Grecians on several occasions and will earn some deserved plaudits for his impressive individual display.

Despite being on the back foot for most of the match, Rovers took a surprise lead on the stroke of half-time when Myron Gibbons latched onto AJ Greaves' through ball, took a touch, and slotted past visiting 'keeper Jared Thompson.

Jack Watson then made it 2-0 with a side-foot finish around the hour mark and at this point it seemed that Doncaster might get the three points which they needed to top the group.

However, it wasn't to be as the visitors quickly responded with two goals in the space of two minutes; the first being a solid near-post header from Alex Hartridge before a well-placed shot by Harry Kite also found the bottom corner.

Based on last year's format in the competition, Exeter will now have home advantage in their Last 16 match due to being group winners, whilst Rovers will travel to as yet unknown opponents having finished as runners-up.

Under 23' boss Gary McSheffrey named senior professionals Matty Blair and Madger Gomes in his starting line-up, whilst centre-back Alex Baptiste featured as he continues to get minutes under his belt following his time on the sidelines with injury. However, on loan youngster Jason Lokilo missed out due to being cup-tied and frontman Max Watters - a regular in this competition this term, was also unavailable as he joined Maidstone United on loan last week.

Exeter fielded a stronger, more experienced side with Alex Fisher, Lee Holmes and Gary Warren amongst their senior starters.

On a chilly night at the Keepmoat Stadium, the first few minutes were quite tentative with AJ Greaves' through ball almost putting Myron Gibbons in the clear, but some good visiting defending nullified the danger.

The Grecians, wearing their fluorescent change strip, began to see more of the ball and thus dictate -and Louis Jones made the first in a string of stops with an excellent acrobatic save to keep out a goalbound header from Lewis Wilson who had connected to a cut-back from the byline.

Fisher then twice went close in quick succession before the quarter-hour mark - firstly as he whistled a low drive narrowly wide before his headed attempt was kept out.

Exeter looked good on the ball with their experience, work-rate and pressing causing quite a few problems. Rovers, by contrast, spent large swathes of the night camped inside their own final third and struggling to work the ball into more effective areas.

Jones continued to be in the thick of the action as he tipped away a dangerous set-piece delivery into the area on 20 minutes, before Alex Baptiste then made a crucial clearance in Exeter's next attack which saw a free-kick (awarded for a foul by Greaves for which he was cautioned) played beyond the back-post area and subsequently knocked across the six-yard box. Had Baptiste not intercepted the danger, Fisher would almost certainly have had a tap-in.

It seemed only a matter of time before the visitors would grab the opening goal and they went close again when Fisher got an intricate flick to a right-wing cross to set-up Wilson, whose eight-yard shot cleared the woodwork.

At the opposite end, Gibbons cut a very isolated figure in Rovers' one-man attack though the youngster had a chance to stretch his legs when Jack Watson's clever, counter-attack release pass nearly set him free. However, some good covering defending meant he was unable to get a shot away.

Exeter were generally in good control by the half-hour mark, having enjoyed much more possession, openings, shots and set-piece openings to put the ball into the box and all they needed was a goal to show their efforts and endeavour.

Another visiting player hit a shot narrowly over the upright after a cleverly-worked short corner routine, before Fisher appealed in vain to the officials when he was brought down on the edge of the area by Madger Gomes on 34 minutes. It looked a convincing shout for a penalty/free-kick but the referee who was in close proximity, was having none of it.

Towards the end of the first period, Rovers began to get a firmer foothold in proceedings and see a bit more of the ball in open-play. Their passing, which had been sloppy at times and littered the overall performance up to this point, improved by a couple of notches as well.

A sign of improvement was highlighted on 38 minutes when Watson managed to get a shot away, even though it was off-target, after some good build-up play involving Gibbons and Rieves Boocock who assisted the youngster for the shot.

Nevertheless, Jones was in the thick of things once again and his vital save just two minutes before the break; a full-stretch diving save to keep out an attempt by Joel Randall who had cut inside from the left flank, ensured the scoreline remained goalless.

There's little doubt that Rovers would have taken 0-0 at the interval given just how much pressure they'd had to soak up, yet during the solitary minute of first half injury-time, they struck on the counter-attack with Gibbons showing skill, pace and composure to get on the end of Greaves' through pass and fire into the net.

A double substitution was made at half-time as Ben Blythe replaced Danny Amos - a switch which meant Branden Horton moved across to left-back for the second 45 minutes, whilst Gomes was withdrawn in favour of A.Trialist.

Despite the changes and the surprising scoreline, the one-way traffic nature of the game didn't alter much during the second half as the hosts were once again indebted to the excellence of Jones who saved well from Fisher's close-range header on 48 minutes.

He soon made a more spectacular save - using his fingertips to get just enough to be equal to Alex Hartridge's 25-yard thunderbolt drive which caught the faintest of deflections off Baptiste to make it even more difficult than it already was.

Exeter continued to press; akin to throwing the toolbox, hammer and entire contents of the living room at their younger counterparts - never mind just the proverbial kitchen sink, and just shy of the hour mark the 'keeper saved Donny once more with some instinctive near-post reactions to deny Fisher who'd got his head to a long-back post cross from the right flank.

It seemed rough justice for the Grecians to be losing at this point so what happened next was all the more surprising but a testament to Rovers' ruthlessness up top.

Horton got into a clever position high up the left flank to supplement a set-piece and it was his improvisation and ball into the box which picked out Watson who unleashed a first-time, side-foot finish past the visiting 'keeper to make it 2-0. It was a pinpoint assist followed by a pinpoint finish.

With Rovers now heading to the top of the group, Exeter knew they had less than half-an-hour to respond if they were to wrestle top spot (and a home tie in the knockout stages) back from their counterparts.

The Devon team went straight down the other end and conjured up a couple more shots on target but this time they were routine efforts which were comfortable for Jones.

By no means were Exeter going to just let things just peter out and settle for defeat, however, and eventually they managed to break Rovers' resistance. Initially, Jones again did well to tip wide another headed attempt from Fisher, but from the resulting right-sided corner, Hartridge rose to meet the near-post delivery and his glancing connection was enough to finally find the net.

What Rovers needed to do now, at 2-1 up, was manage the game as well as possible but they were unable to heed the warning signs and less than a minute after the goal which halved the deficit, Exeter got back on level terms.

This time, a visiting player worked hard on the inside-right flank to get the better of Rian McLean and his hooked ball towards a central goalmouth position was met with a backwards flick which fell kindly for Harry Kite who let fly with a sweet low strike to equalise.

It was harsh on Rovers to have had their lead cut to ribbons in such a small space of time but totally deserved on the balance of play.

With a quarter of the game remaining, it seemed that if anyone was going to grab a winner then it would be the team playing in yellow - even though it was Doncaster who needed to win in order to seal top spot because a draw wouldn't be enough.

Exeter's comeback nearly became a total turnaround on 68 minutes as an opponent unleashed an audacious 25-yard drive, having seized upon some sloppy midfield play between Greaves and A.Trialist. The ball looked for all the world that it would hit the back of the net as it had a full-stretch Jones beaten, yet it crashed back off the woodwork and was scrambled up the pitch as far as Boocock who saw a speculative shot blocked at the other end.

Another attack, soon afterwards, by the visitors saw Fisher accelerate away into a dangerous position before the ball was eventually worked back to Josh Key who skewed a low, gilt-edged shot horribly wide from 15 yards when he may have been better feeding a simple pass to Joel Randall who was in acres of space, unmarked, on the blind side of the defence.

The closing stages of the game didn't create too many more openings. Exeter still looked the more probing and threatening, whereas Donny knew they'd have to pounce on a counter-attack or transition to muster something up.

Ben Blythe and substitute Lirak Hasani both went into the referees notebook for respective fouls and Rovers actually ended the game with 10 players as A.Trialist was unable to continue having suffered a nasty-looking knock to his foot.

Ultimately, although Rovers pressed a bit more in the dying stages and during injury-time, there were to be no further goals. A draw probably doesn't reflect the balance of play as Exeter created so much and were just thwarted by the outstanding Louis Jones, but the result is certainly a positive which the hosts can take.

There's plenty that many of the Under 23s squad who featured can glean from this experience. Playing against what Exeter fielded is a definite 'step up' from what the lads will be used to and it's the best way for them to learn and improve. The more frequently they play against opponents of such a decent calibre, the more they will be able to 'bridge the gap' in regards to the difference what was highlighted in this encounter over the 90 minutes.

Team: Louis Jones, Rian McLean (Lirak Hasani), Danny Amos (Ben Blythe), Branden Horton, Alex Baptiste, Matty Blair, Madger Gomes (Trialist), AJ Greaves (C), Myron Gibbons, Rieves Boocock, Jack Watson. Unused Subs: Kian Johnson, Will McGowan.

Lincoln City (U18s) 1-2 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

Lincoln City (U18s) 1-2 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)
EFL Youth Alliance
Saturday 22nd February 2020

Doncaster Rovers’ title hopes remain in good health after the lads survived an almighty second half onslaught from Lincoln City to record their fourth straight win in the EFL Youth Alliance.

Everything was going perfectly to plan for Paul Stancliffe’s young table-toppers, who took the lead through Lirak Hasani’s low free-kick on the quarter-hour mark before Jack Watson added his name to the score-sheet prior to the half-time interval.

Some poor finishing meant Rovers were unable to bag a third goal (and thus put the result beyond doubt) and a starkly contrasting second half performance in comparison to the positive display in the opening 45 minutes, paved the way for a very nervy finale.

The Imps halved the deficit on 67 minutes when they seized upon a mistake involving Charlie Bell, and it felt as though they were camped in Rovers’ own half for the remainder of proceedings as they searched for an equaliser.

Despite pressing relentlessly; forcing Donny ‘keeper Ben Bottomley into a string of saves and also having what looked to be a strong penalty appeal waved away, the hosts couldn’t grab a leveller and Rovers somehow held on for what might prove to be a vital victory.

Results elsewhere saw Scunthorpe lose to Bradford, whilst Rotherham also slumped to a shock defeat at Huddersfield. It means the lads are now 10 points clear at the summit.

In blustery weather conditions at Riseholme College (which is situated on the northern outskirts of the city centre with the cathedral as something of a backdrop in the distance), there were two changes made to the starting line-up as Lewis Cunningham and Ben Bottomley both returned to action.

Rovers, sporting their black and blue away strip for the first time this calendar year, adjusted well to the conditions, grabbed the initiative, had plenty of possession and caused Lincoln several problems during the early stages of the game.

Inside the opening 10 minutes, Jack Watson latched onto a through ball and saw a powerful low effort tipped around the post by a full-stretch 'keeper, whilst Will McGowan's attempt from the edge of the area following a cleverly-worked set-piece caught a deflection and just went over the upright.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Lincoln's first opening saw Bottomley called into action but the first-year scholar got down well at his near-post to make a routine enough save.

The lads certainly looked 'up for it' as they moved the ball around well, which put the hosts firmly on the back-foot and the opening goal finally arrived on the quarter-hour mark.

Junior Smith won a free-kick on the edge of the area which offered a perfect-angle for the many players who consider themselves to be useful at set-plays. However, Lirak Hasani took responsibility and arrowed an accurate right-foot drive, low into the 'keeper's bottom-left corner, to make it 1-0 - a fine goal and well-deserved at this point.

Lincoln then enjoyed some pressure up at the other end but, in truth, their first half attacking threat was sporadic and they lacked menace. In contrast, Rovers' play was fluid, with purpose and whenever they broke forward, they looked capable of scoring.

The 4G surface was creating a 'faster' game than usual yet this actually went against the lads as Watson was unfortunate not to latch onto a couple of quick through balls from McGowan and Marius Conradi, respectively, and properly test the home 'keeper.

Nevertheless, the talisman didn't have to wait long to get his name on the score-sheet because soon afterwards, Cunningham 'fed him his dinner' with an intricate and well-weighted through ball which was slammed home to make it 2-0.

Confidence was flowing just as freely as the fine, pass-and-move football by this stage and it would have been 3-0 by the half-hour mark if either the linesman hadn't ruled out Conradi's strike for offside or if McGowan's speculative shot from distance had found the net. 

On 33 minutes, Smith also tested the reflexes of the busy Imps 'keeper after more good midfield and flank play resulted in the visitors causing issues, whilst Elliott Walker saw a shot blocked and a Liam Ravenhill attempt was kept out (albeit in unorthodox fashion) during another attack.

A gulf between the teams was obvious yet what Rovers needed to do was bag a third goal to almost seal the win. It didn't happen and there was a momentum shift towards the closing stages of the first half - best shown when a counter-attack saw Bottomley called upon to make an important save before captain Ben Blythe's great follow-up challenge stopped a goal being scored from the rebound.

There was still one notable, gilt-edged chance of note which Doncaster squandered prior to half-time when Conradi was put clean through but the Norwegian frontman didn't possess enough composure to finish and his shot cleared the woodwork.

At half-time, things would have no doubt been quite positive in the away dressing room. The lads had opened up a comfortable enough two-goal cushion, they'd generally done well barring a few 'bits and bobs' and the positives far outweighed the negatives.

What unfolded in the second half was a complete contrast and, by the final whistle, they'd been hanging on for long periods having been put very much on the back foot by a rejuvenated Lincoln.

Rovers' afternoon took a turn for the worse just a few minutes into the second period when Ravenhill came off worse following a collision in the centre circle. Having received treatment, he was unable to continue and had to be replaced by fellow midfielder Charlie Bell.

The decision-making also went awry; shown quite early on when another promising move came to nothing as Watson went it alone and couldn't score when Conradi was lurking nearby, potentially in an even better position.

Lincoln seemed to have more zest and desire than previously and they went close with a curling effort on 53 minutes which was well-watched and well-claimed by Bottomley, who saved another shot, this time straight at him, prior to the hour mark.

The team in red and white stripes continued to see more of the ball and were making inroads whilst Rovers seemed uncharacteristically sloppy in their play though they did force a corner where big centre-back Nathan Dimou headed wide from McGowan's delivery.

With a quarter of the game remaining, it was obvious that the third goal would be vital in regards to the outcome. If Doncaster scored it, then it'd likely ensure a nerve-free finale. If Lincoln scored it, then it'd undoubtedly be a backs-to-the-wall remainder of the game.

Crucially, Lincoln got the third goal and it came off a defensive mistake. Bell received a ball out from the back by Bottomley and was subsequently dispossessed - allowing the hosts' to quickly knock it forward and stab a shot into the bottom to reduce arrears.

It was something which they deserved for all their endeavour, without doubt, but a self-inflicted mistake and a poor goal to concede from a Rovers perspective.

Unsurprisingly, the final 20-25 minutes were filled with tension as Lincoln through the proverbial 'kitchen sink' forward in search for an equaliser and created a plethora of openings and near-misses as the game wore on.

Bottomley twice showed excellent reflexes to make key saves from shots, one ball was allowed to drift through the defence at a set-play, a dangerous free-kick in a promising position was wasted (blazed low and straight at the defensive wall) and a 'Ronaldinho' type attempt from wide out on the right flank had the young 'keeper frantically back-peddling but fortunately fell the wrong side of the post - causing much relief!

However, the big moment in the closing stages came when an Imps player went to ground inside the box - something which was met with loud appeals for a spot-kick. Their case looked very convincing, but the referee was situated only a few yards away and allowed play to continue. 

It remained tense all the way up to the final whistle, especially during four minutes of injury-time as Rovers' back-line seemed to subconsciously drop back an extra yard with each passing minute whilst Bell was also booked after he conceded a dangerous free-kick out wide, but the lads held on to get the three points.

It was a win - but just!

Lincoln's endeavour, hard-work and determination had to be applauded even though it was ultimately their lack of a cutting-edge which stopped them from snatching a point. They made a game of it from a position around half-an-hour in where they could easily have caved in and suffered a hammering.

From a Rovers perspective, the lads will no doubt learn so much from this experience - from being ruthless to decision-making, individually and collectively through to game-management, etc. It was a strange day; a real game of two halves. The positive aspect is the result (and results elsewhere is a bonus for the lads) but they can do themselves better justice than they did at times today with the overall, complete, 90-minute performance.

Team: Ben Bottomley, Elliott Walker (Max Jemson), Nathan Dimou, Ben Blythe (C), Lewis Cunningham, Lirak Hasani, Will McGowan, Liam Ravenhill (Charlie Bell), Marius Conradi (Owan Derrett), Junior Smith (Luca Nelson), Jack Watson. Unused Sub: Kian Johnson.