Doncaster made it three wins on the bounce as they beat an out of sorts Barrow side 1-0 at the Eco-Power Stadium this evening.
Rovers only made the one change from their 2-0 win at Swindon on Saturday. It was enforced as Tommy Rowe came in to replace the injured Tom Anderson, with manager Danny Schofield later confirming that he is likely to be out for a few weeks. Rowe also wore the captains armband for the game.
The visitors made two changes from their defeat to Newport County at the weekend. Rory Feely was suspended after picking up a red card in that game and was replaced by Tyrell Warren. Robbie Gotts also returned to the starting line up as Elliot Newby dropped to the bench.
FIRST HALF
The game began rather cagey with neither side being able to take a grip on the game. The first chance came 12 minutes in and it fell to the hosts. Good work from Kyle Hurst created an opportunity for Rowe but he fired over Paul Farman’s crossbar from around 20 yards from goal. The next opportunity that arrived was the only goal of the game. Luke Molyneux crossed for full back James Maxwell, who needed two bites of the cherry as his first effort cannoned off Tyrell Warren, before kindly falling to him again as he finished with his right foot past the helpless Farman in the Bluebirds goal. Barrow appeared low on confidence and rarely threatened, with any balls into the Doncaster box being easily dealt with. Simple passes were going wayward too with Warren in particular having a torrid time. Their first chance came just before half time as a Ben Whitfield free kick from the right was headed just over by Chelsea loanee Sam McClelland. It was Donny who had the last chance of the half though, as Molyneux forced a good save from Farman.
SECOND HALF
Barrow boss Pete Wild hauled Tyrell Warren off at half time, bringing on Elliot Newby. Although were at a premium for both sides is looked increasingly likely that it would be the visitors who would score next. A Billy Waters effort was saved well by Donny stopper Jonathan Mitchell before arguably Barrow’s best chance of the game. It arrived on 64 minutes as a cross was whipped in from the right by Ben Whitfield and forward Ged Garner only needed the slightest of touches to make the scores level. The ball went agonisingly past him and across the Donny goalmouth before being cleared by Joseph Olowu. On the 78th minute we were treated to floodlight failure. Referee Thomas Kirk stopped play but it was restarted after a few minutes after light returned. What didn’t light up after that though was the action on the pitch though, with the only bit of action being Barrow substitute Jake Young going down under a challenge from James Brown. Kirk quickly dismissed claims before play resumed. The full time whistle was blown after 11 minutes of added.
POST MATCH COMMENTS
Donny boss Danny Schofield spoke candidly in his press conference after the game and admitted his side needed to ‘grind’ out the victory . “I think going in 1-0 at half time is precarious. We discussed how to manage the game and what we thought Barrow would do. Mitch (goalkeeper Jonathan Mitchell) made the decision to go a bit direct in the second half and I thought we competed well in those moments. We knew we had to manage the game in a different way”.
He also provided an update on the injury picked up by Tom Anderson. ” Tom had a bit of pain in his foot so we had it scanned. It showed something that might create a problem going forward. We made the decision to pull him away from the next couple of games” Schofield went on to outline the Stockport game on 4th March as a possible return date.
Rovers are well placed for a play off place, sitting just two points off the top seven. Barrow on the other hand are sliding down the table and are now in 14th. They have only won one of their last 11 league games.
MATCH DETAILS/STATS
Doncaster: Mitchell; Brown, Nelson, Olowu, Maxwell; Rowe (C), Lakin, Close; Molyneux, Hurst (Barlow 90′), Miller(Lavery 75′).
Barrow: Farman; Warren (Newby 46′) Canavan (C), McClelland, Brough; White, Neal, Gotts (Bennett 74′); Whitfield, Waters, Garner (Young 84′)
SHOTS ON GOAL:
DRFC: 7
BAFC: 9
CORNERS:
DRFC: 1
BAFC: 3
YELLOW CARDS:
DRFC: 1 (Maxwell 57′)
BAFC: 2 (Gotts 54′, Neal 90+6′)
Match Attendance: 5,496
Match Referee: T. Kirk