Paul Jewell’s first home game in charge of Town saw the Blues come from behind to gain their first victory over Doncaster since 1957. The visitors went ahead in the first half through Billy Sharp but David Norris and Connor Wickham put Town in front after the break, before Sharp equalised, only for Carlos Edwards’s deflected shot to take all three points for the Blues.

Jewell made two changes from last week’s line-up, Grant Leadbitter returned to central midfield after his three-match ban, while Lee Martin, recalled from Charlton on Tuesday, came in on the left. Mark Kennedy and Jaime Peters dropped to the bench.

Skipper David Norris switched to the right of midfield with Carlos Edwards moving to the right-back role he occupied in the early stages of his career with Wrexham and Luton and where he plays for Trinidad and Tobago. Connor Wickham, who signed a new contract yesterday, joined Tamás Priskin up front.

Doncaster were within inches from going in front in the fifth minute when Billy Sharp beat the Town offside trap as John Oster returned the ball into the box, hitting a low shot which beat Fülöp but struck the post.

But the former Sheffield United man only had to wait another minute before getting his name on the scoresheet. Martin was dispossessed on halfway on the Town left and Rovers midfielder James Coppinger played a long pass forward to Sharp inside the area. The Doncaster frontman took the ball away from Gareth McAuley and Darren O’Dea before hitting a low right-foot shot across Fülöp and into the net.

Wickham immediately went looking for the equaliser but was thwarted by veteran keeper Neil Sullivan, who ran off his line to block.

Referee Mark Brown, taking control of his first Championship fixture, produced a couple of early yellow cards, booking Gareth McAuley for a foul on Coppinger, then Doncaster’s Mark Wilson for tripping Martin.

On 11 Leadbitter went well wide from distance, then soon after Norris was similarly wayward with a strike, also from around 25 yards.

Connor Wickham had a chance to put the Blues on terms in the 19th minute when Priskin played a ball which caused confusion between the two Doncaster centre-halves. The England U21 international eventually found himself space to shoot, Sullivan saving, but might have laid the ball off to Norris and others advancing from midfield.

Coppinger shot over for the visitors a minute later, then on 27 Sharp had the ball in the net for a second time but with the linesman’s flag already raised.

Wickham, who had by now moved to left midfield with Martin switching to the right and Norris to the centre, again hit Sullivan with a 25-yard shot in the 33rd minute.

On 36 keeper Fülöp sent Martin away down the right with a quick throw, the midfielder got to the byline before sending in a cross, which an under pressure Priskin headed over at the far post.

Doncaster nearly made it two in the 42nd minute when skipper Matt KIlgallon’s header from a corner was cleared off the line by Edwards.

Neither side created much in the remaining minutes of the half and the visitors went in at half-time a goal in front, which they probably deserved on the balance of the chances, although neither side had played particularly fluently. Referee Mark Brown was booed off at the break after penalising Priskin for hassling Sullivan as he prepared to kick the ball out in the closing moments.

Billy Sharp had looked by far the brightest player on the field in front of goal, while the Blues, who had again seemed anxious and lacking in confidence on the ball, were looking less than solid at the back and on another day Rovers might have been further in front.

Town’s best chance had been Priskin’s header over but even after switching to a five-man across the middle, the Blues’ midfield had managed to create little aside from long passes down the middle, which had caused the Doncaster centre-halves problems on occasion.

Paul Jewell stuck with the same personnel for the second half but switched Wickham to the right and Martin to the left.

The Blues got back on terms three minutes into the new period. A Martin corner was cleared but the ball was headed back into the area by Wickham, where Priskin deftly cushioned it down to skipper Norris, who volleyed home his seventh goal of the season.

Town were looking a much more confident side having scored the goal and on 54 Edwards went on a mazy run into and then out of the area on the right, eventually sending in a cross, which James Chambers nodded out at the far post.

The Blues went in front right on the hour mark. After an Edwards freekick had been cleared out to the left, Healy did well to find himself space before sending in a superb cross, which Wickham powered home from six yards, first goal of the season.

Before Portman Road had caught its breath, Rovers were back on terms. Coppinger sent in a low cross from the right within a minute of Town’s goal and Sharp dived in to head home his second of the game and his 13th of the season.

But Town went back in front in the 64th minute, Edwards lashing in a trademark 35-yard strike which took a deflection and hit the post before nestling in the corner of the net.

The Blues, with Wickham back on the left and Martin on the right, were looking a far more confident outfit with midfielders breaking forward in large numbers at time. On 75 Priskin shot straight to Sullivan from far too tight an angle, then a minute later Norris went wide after some hard running from Martin had seen him win the ball.

Town’s skipper sent a right-foot strike over in the 78th minute with the Sir Bobby Robson Stand singing for the Blues management to “Sign him up”.

Doncaster had a good chance to equalise again in the 85th minute when James Hayter chased a long ball into the Town area but shot into the sidenetting.

Priskin should have sealed it on 87 after a superb Blues moving involving Edwards and Martin, the Trinidadian putting the Hungarian in the clear, running in from the right. The Town striker cut inside a defender but blazed well over from 10 yards.

Wickham picked up a yellow card for a succession of fouls as the game entered injury time, moments after his shot had been blocked after a clever interchange between the 17-year-old and Priskin.

There was one late scare for the Blues when in the final moments when Kilgallon was found in space on the left of the area but Fülöp blocked.

Moments later referee Mark Brown called time on his first Championship game, Paul Jewell’s first victory as Blues boss and Town’s first win against Doncaster since 1957.

Town were a much better proposition in the second half, gaining confidence from their first goal coming so soon after the break. The second Doncaster goal following so quickly after Town had gone in front might have proved difficult to come back from, but Paul Jewell’s men kept at it and deserved Edwards’s third when it came.

Overall, there was a greater positivity about the performance, the full-backs and midfield got forward more often and in larger numbers with Lee Martin and Colin Healy, players cast aside by the previous management, amongst a number of players putting in more than decent shifts. Carlos Edwards also had a particularly effective second half at right-back.

By no means a virtuoso performance but after the break in particular there were signs of a more attacking Town side and the period of five minutes in which three of the game’s goals were scored was like a trip back to the Joe Royle era.

The boost of confidence that a home win brings is probably as important as the three points ahead of the Carling Cup trip to Arsenal on Tuesday.

Town: Fülöp, Edwards, O’Dea, McAuley, Delaney, Norris, Leadbitter, Healy, Martin, Wickham, Priskin. Unused: Lee-Barrett, Peters, Scotland, Hyam, Smith, Civelli, Kennedy.

Doncaster: Sullivan, O’Connor, Chambers (Fairhurst 89), Sharp, Lockwood, Hayter, Wilson (Hird 90), Oster, Shiels (Mason 88), Coppinger, Kilgallon. Unused: Woods, Friend, Souza, Keegan. Referee: Mark Brown (East Yorkshire), Att: 17,298 (Doncaster: 353).

Photo: Action Images

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