Town boss Paul Jewell again bemoaned his side’s tendency to concede “calamitous goals” after Doncaster left Portman Road with a 3-2 victory. The Blues manager praised his side’s second half character as they pulled two goals back but felt they’d left themselves far too much to do with their first half display.
Jewell said: "With the goals we’re giving away we’re giving ourselves mountains to climb at the moment. We did it at Peterborough, against Southampton, Millwall and again today. We’re giving calamitous goals away and when you do that you’re always going to be up against it.
"When we’re bad, we’re hopeless,” he conceded. " We just look so vulnerable and every time they went forward they almost scored a goal.
"I think we showed a bit of character in the second half, even though at 3-1 we wanted to be more on the front foot, but I don’t think it was as bad as the [Peterborough and Southampton] games. We showed some character in the second half.
"But the first half performances and the way we concede goals is killing us. We’re making basic errors. There are experienced players out there, as well as one or two young ones.”
The Blues boss outlined the failings on each of Doncaster’s goals: "Every goal you concede is a bad goal but the first one’s from a freekick, which doesn’t get cleared, gets crossed and Diouf gets a free header.
"The second one is a cross from the right under no pressure, another a free header. The third one, the two centre-backs get in one another and the game’s over almost. It’s not the midfield, it’s not the forwards, it’s the team as the whole.
"When we’re not controlling games, we’re getting done. There are plenty of teams that haven’t controlled games that have got a 0-0 or a 1-0. And we, at the minute, because it’s not going our way, we get done at the back.”
Freekicks and corners are also a problem: "It’s not just a defensive point of view, it’s set plays as well. We switch off at set plays. When we got to 3-1 and everyone’s got their man for set plays, they could have scored two goals. That’s just down to basic poor defending. That might not be a defender, that might be a midfield player, it might be a forward player.
"Even if you’re playing not very well, as we were in the first half, we’ve got to be able to get in at half-time at 0-0 or still be in the game.
"At 3-0 you don’t give up but you give yourself a mountain to climb. Our goal difference tells you that we don’t defend very well.”
Jewell wasn’t using the switches of personnel as an explanation for the alarming drop in form: "All those things we were doing three weeks ago have just disappeared for whatever reason, through confidence or whatever.
"Perhaps we made a few changes through injury, but we’re not going to use that as an excuse. Some of the goals we’ve conceded, not just today but this season, are not of the standard of a decent Championship team, or a bad Championship team even.”
Doncaster boss Dean Saunders was delighted with the win but admitted he was worried at the end: "We played really well today, although George Friend’s missed four open goals, so I’m a bit disappointed at what happened right at the end because if there had been another five minutes on the clock, you never know, they could have forced the ball over the line somehow, got a lucky break.
"But I can’t complain. Those were two great crosses from Coppinger, he worked his socks off and played really well and the finishing from Diouf and Billy Sharp was great. It was a good three points for us, we needed it.”
Rovers striker Sharp, whose new-born son Luey died last week, thanked Town fans for their applause after his goal and when he was subbed via Twitter: "Just like to say a big thank you to all the Ipswich fans for the ovation they gave me when I scored and got taken off.
"Will never forget that moment today at Portman Road. Ipswich Town fans unbelievable, never seen anything like it.
"And another thank you to all Blades fans, heard about the minute's applause on 24 minutes, very special, I scored on 24 minutes too,” said the former Sheffield United player and boyhood supporter.