Doncaster Rovers came from a goal down to beat the Blues 4-1 and comprehensively end their unbeaten start to 2020/21 and drop them to second in the League One table. A Joe Wright own goal gave Town the lead on the quarter hour but goals from Cameron John and skipper Ben Whiteman on 28 and 37 gave the home side a 2-1 half-time lead before Whiteman netted the third from the spot in the 62nd minute and Fejiri Okenabirhie made it four two minutes later.

Town boss Paul Lambert made one change from the team which beat Accrington 2-0 on Saturday with Jon Nolan replacing Teddy Bishop, who dropped to the bench, in midfield.
"Striker Oli Hawkins, who missed the weekend match due to a groin problem, was also among the subs.

Lambert started his front three as they moved to in the second half on Saturday with Freddie Sears down the middle, Gwion Edwards on the left and Alan Judge on the right.

Doncaster made two changes from the team which beat Portsmouth 1-0 at Fratton Park on Saturday with veteran former Town target James Coppinger and Reece James moving to the bench, while Matt Smith and Josh Sims made their full debuts having been subs against Pompey.

After the players took a knee in support of Black Lives Matter, the Blues dominated possession in the opening couple of minutes.

Sears won a seventh minute corner for Town following good work from Edwards and Emyr Huws on the counter-attack and from the flag-kick the ball briefly ran loose but to a Rovers player and the home side were able to break.

On nine Huws brought the ball forward midway inside the Doncaster half but scuffed his shot through to Doncaster keeper Josef Bursik.

Neither side had been able to create a more serious chance than that in an evenly-balanced opening spell until the Blues went in front right on the quarter-hour mark.

Skipper Chambers won a header on the right from a Tomas Holy long kick, then burst forward on to Judge’s return pass before sending in a low cross which Joe Wright turned into his own net ahead of Sears.

There was a big scare for the Blues in the 21st minute when Holy scuffed a pass forward to Sims not far outside the area. Nsiala got across quickly to make an important challenge, then Smith curled a shot over.

But Town were seeing most of the ball and passing it around confidently. In the 26th minute Sears and Judge combined on the edge of the box and the Irish international shot into Bursik’s arms.

However, in the 28th minute Rovers levelled with their first shot of the game following a sustained spell of passing in the Town half.

Eventually, with Nsiala and James Wilson having gone after the same ball outside the box, Smith played Cameron John in in space on the right of the area and the former Wolves trainee found the net off the underside of the bar.

Having conceded for only the third time in the league this season, the Blues went about restoring their lead. On 33 a Judge cross from the right was headed straight up in the air by a Doncaster defender ahead of Bursik but the ball failed to fall kindly for Town.

Two minutes later at the other end, Madger Gomes hit a low shot which flew not too far wide.

And in the 37th minute the home side went in front in a somewhat freakish manner. A short corner on the left was played to Sims and on to Whiteman, who sent a ball into the box from midway inside the half which evaded everyone and bounced past Holy to his left and into the net.

Town were behind for the first time in the league this season having not previously conceded twice in a game. Rovers continued to push after their second goal, a dangerous ball from the left flying across the area.

In the 40th minute, Judge hit the wall with a free-kick from not far outside the area and Chambers was unable to make anything of the loose ball.

Two minutes later, Judge found Huws on the edge of the area from where the Welshman hit a powerful volley over the bar.

Town made their way down the tunnel behind at the break for the first time in the league this season.

Having started well enough and got their noses in front, the Blues conceded two disappointing goals against a Rovers side which had previously looked unthreatening.

Both centre-halves were pulled into the same area for the first after Doncaster had been allowed to keep hold of the ball for a long spell, while the second should never have found its way into the net.

From there, Rovers looked the more confident side with Town unconvincing in the latter stages.

Andre Dozzell got his name in the book two minutes after the restart for a foul on Fejiri Okenabirhie.

In the 49th minute Sears hit a powerful strike at Bursik which the keeper did well to hold on to.

Rovers should have been 3-1 up a minute later when the Town defence and keeper Holy left a wayward through ball for one another and Sims was able to get in behind and seize on it. Nsiala was fortunate that his rash challenge didn’t bring the on-loan Southampton down before the winger scraped a low shot wide.

Town had made little headway since the break and on the hour Huws was swapped for Bishop.

Two minutes later, Rovers were 3-1 in front from the penalty spot. Nsiala clumsily felled Sims as he broke into the area on the left and referee Scott Oldham pointed to the spot. Nsiala and the Town bench vociferously claimed the foul was outside the box but the appeals achieved only as caution for the Town defender.

Whiteman confidently beat Holy from the spot to claim his second goal of the evening.

The scoreline was quickly to get worse as Doncaster went 4-1 in front via Okenabirhie.

As the Blues sought to play out from the back, Holy, who was having a tough evening, played a pass to Nsiala to his right but only succeeded in finding Sims, who played the ball inside to Okenabirhie, who picked his spot from the edge of the box.

Town, now having a mountain to climb to get anything from the game, swapped Sears for Hawkins in the 69th minute.

Jon Taylor thought he should have been awarded his side’s second penalty of the game in the 76th minute as he ended up on the ground as he went past Edwards. It was difficult to see whether he slipped or was caught by the Town player.

Edwards was replaced by Keanan Bennetts for Town and Doncaster Sims and Okenabirhie for James and Taylor Richards. On 83 Wilson was yellow-carded for a foul on Smith, who a minute later was swapped for Ed Williams.

In injury time, ??’s free-kick deflected through to Holy, who claimed.

To a huge degree Town were the architects of their own downfall having got themselves in the driver’s seat.

The Town backline won’t want to be reminded of any of the goals with those conceded in the second half as poor as those before the break.

Nsiala, widely praised for his start to the season, had already come close to giving a penalty away before his rash challenge which led to the spot-kick from which Doncaster scored their third.

The fourth, which was down to the type of error when passing out from the back which was a concern in pre-season, ended the game as a contest and the Blues never looked like getting back in it against a Rovers side by that stage unsurprisingly full of confidence.

A first setback of the season - and a very significant one given the margin of the defeat - with a trip to third-placed Lincoln City - where they were beaten 5-3 last season - a big test for Town and their character on Saturday.

Doncaster: Bursik, Halliday, Anderson, Wright, Gomes, Whiteman (c), Okenabirhie (Richards 76), Taylor, Smith (Williams 84), Sims (James 76), John. Unused: Jones, Lokilo, Butler, Coppinger.

Town: Holy, Chambers (c), Nsiala, Wilson, Kenlock, Dozzell, Huws (Bishop 60), Nolan, Judge, Edwards (Bennetts 76), Sears (Hawkins 69). Unused: Cornell, McGuinness, Woolfenden, Lankester. Referee: Scott Oldham (Poulton-le-Fylde).

Photo: Action Images

Karlosfandangal added 21:17 - Oct 20 Please be more direct Ipswich why you pass back to Holy just him to pass it back to you and then pass the ball between the back 4 to then pass to Nolan for him to pass it back to Holy.
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HUTCHITFC added 21:19 - Oct 20 I am just really disappointed. Like others I was probably getting a bit carried away due to recent results but given tonight's performance it's a massive reality check that we aren't as good as we think we are. What makes this result harder for me personally is that I live in Doncaster and will be getting some right stick in the morning given the talk I have done recently about us. Very sloppy play in my opinion tonight some awful passing and the players just looked like they couldn't be arsed. This was a big game tonight Donny are a good team and I'd have hoped Lambert would have known this and drilled it into the players that they need to be switched on and to not give the ball away as much. I am trying not to be too harsh on the team but to get promoted in this division you need to be focused, disciplined and determined to win at all costs week in week out and tonight we were poor. I know you can't win every week but like I said this was my BIG game of the season being a Donny lad and the team let me down tonight.

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budgieplucker added 21:20 - Oct 20 We had to loose sometime and to be fair It's no disgrace to loose to Doncaster. However, once we were deservedly one nil up and had the game under control we didn't force our advantage and two powderpuff efforts from Huws and Judge who have to do much better. Doncaster has a bit of luck getting back into the game and then we made it so easy for them. Holy atrocious kicking and fault for the second goal. Shame that our centre halves who have been outstanding this season had poor games but let's give them that one. One real question sums up how I feel about to night and I accept the loss and can move on but the question is “what is it that PL sees in Alan Judge and what does he bring to the side”? Freddy should have stayed on alongside Hawkins up front as there was no way when we were 3 down that we were going to beat Doncaster with a footballing game we had to get more aggressive going forward. A lot to prove that we have the staying power and punch of the likes of Peterborough and Hull. Sunderland seem to have toughened up this year as well, Portsmouth, Lincoln and Charlton are all going to have a say in the top six and Doncaster are not going to be far away. Better style of football this year but when the midfield gets packed we start to look lightweight, perhaps Skuse and Downes may end up of having a key role when they get fit after all.

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Lathers added 21:22 - Oct 20 ....and all comparisons with the start to the 80/81 season now disappear!!! We actually played well for 15 mins and then they turned it around against the run of play but we have ridden our luck at times so far this season so maybe this was things balancing out. For the first time this season I thought our back 3 of Holy, Nsiala and Wilson looked very vulnerable. Our midfield 3 once again went missing for periods and have never managed a consistent 90 mins so far. All in all we were made to look very ordinary tonight and miles away from a team trying to get in to the Championship. It's only 1 game so trying to be optimistic but we will need a massive improvement if we are to bounce back at Lincoln.

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Bluearmy_81 added 21:25 - Oct 20 Speccy, and town fans will just shrug and accept league as they have had all their pride and passion ground out of them. Town fans should have turned on the cause of our demise (Evans) years ago. So poor... Pay peanuts you get monkeys
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blueboy1981 added 21:29 - Oct 20 Cloddyseedbed - good post, totally agree with you. Is this just a blip ? - or are we about to commence another repeat of last season ? - 100% improvement required on tonights performance to convince me it's not the latter .. !!
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Bluecasp added 21:29 - Oct 20 I never thought I would say it but Alan Judge's performance tonight was reminiscent of Tony Dinning, minus his big shorts!
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runaround added 21:30 - Oct 20 Embarrassing result & performance tonight. I did fear we may lose tonight but not like that. The way we capitulated after the equaliser is frankly unacceptable and the nature of the other 3 goals we conceded was just not good enough. It's just one game but how we react to it is the most important thing. Massive improvement required on the pitch Saturday. Some players will be fortunate that there are so many injuries that they will possibly stay in the side by default

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Karlosfandangal added 21:30 - Oct 20 McGuiness in Nsala, Bennetts for Judge and Bishop for Huws.Woolfenden for Wilson
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GatesPerm added 21:33 - Oct 20 Bluearmy 81 - the team currently sitting top of the league have already lost 4-1!
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Dolphinblue added 21:34 - Oct 20 Oh and here he is...Bluearmy1981 has appeared...no where to be seen when we are winning....but when we are losing the multiple posts appear....TRY BEING A FAN AND NOT JUST A DOOMSAYER COYB!
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blueheartXT added 21:35 - Oct 20 It doesn't take a lot to awaken the neg crew We've lost once had a bad game and definitely more to come But one thing is for sure while you all are unable to spectate at home matches bringing your boos and vile opinions directed at players we will certainly achieve more this year than last year COYB
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planetblue_2011 added 21:37 - Oct 20 We lost to the better team on the night, Doncaster pegged us back & made us make a couple of stupid mistakes I.e the pen. We couldn't seem to get our game together & it's credit to Doncaster they just played better, end of really!! 2 or 3 changes for sats game that's all, don't go changing the team completely or that will pee up everything. The big test is on sat It's gonna be a huge test against an inform Lincoln. We have got to be at the races & match them all over the park & put out chances away when they come. Find our feet, find our game & we will be back firing. COYB

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Pencilpete added 21:39 - Oct 20 We are always going to lose games, the issue for me was the manner of it which smacked of last season's debacle. We MUST put in a performance and a result at Lincoln to nip this in the bud before it becomes a problem again
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Lathers added 21:41 - Oct 20 I know Lambert doesn't want to make wholesale changes especially after everyone gave him grief last season but for me we need to start with Woolfenden and McGuiness as our CB partnership at Lincoln. Yes it's a risk to make a double change but one worth taking as I think they could form an incredible promotion winning partnership.
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runningout added 21:44 - Oct 20 Plucker .. it's a disgrace to lose to anyone any league any country if you have genuine pride. If you do respond with genuine desire
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cat added 21:46 - Oct 20 OUCH! can't judge a team on the back of one defeat, let's see what happens at Lincoln then decide! lol
5

Drifter3012 added 21:47 - Oct 20 Tonight was horrible. But I have to put it into perspective. It is a long season and PL is going to balls up the team selection every now and then. With his new "keep the shirt" policy we can only hope he will make changes Saturday and those lads who come in will play to "keep the shirt." I'd like to see Wolfy back in with McGuiness and Hawkins up front again with Sears and Bennetts either side.

2

Drifter3012 added 21:47 - Oct 20 Tonight was horrible. But I have to put it into perspective. It is a long season and PL is going to balls up the team selection every now and then. With his new "keep the shirt" policy we can only hope he will make changes Saturday and those lads who come in will play to "keep the shirt." I'd like to see Wolfy back in with McGuiness and Hawkins up front again with Sears and Bennetts either side.

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Suffolkboy added 21:48 - Oct 20 One does wonder what AJ might say if asked what he thinks he brings to the side , what characteristics determine his game, what character he tries to portray ; he looks a loose thinker, sometimes a lazy player who only sparkles occasionally rather than a consistent technician who can and will always want to contribute .Has not looked worth a place in the line up and lets down his colleagues and the manager. JN also rarely imposes himself, but has this season seemed more committed . Let's see what effect this loss has on morale ; it may be the journey up , or lord forbid pending sickness impinged on performance . But there's loads of chances ahead to return to winning ways and mistakes will always occur ,so let's get chins up ! COYB

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Gilesy added 21:49 - Oct 20 Blue boy...sorry, marked you down by mistake. Meant to be resident personality disorder populist nut job Bluearmy with his entirely predictable nonsense which is weirdly lacking when we win. Sorry!
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blueboy1981 added 21:52 - Oct 20 Same Manager, same start to the season, early lead of the League, not dominating games thus far, but accrued early points. Sounds familiar doesn't it ? - can we expect more, or will we be expecting too much from what we see ? One thing is certain, if we get a repeat the crowd criticism cannot be blamed. The clean sheet has well and truly GONE.
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herfie added 21:57 - Oct 20 PL says consistently that responsibility for performances rests with him. That being so, his managerial/motivational credentials will be validated on Saturday when we face a solid Lincoln side. Tonight's disappointing - almost Jekyll and Hyde - performance will have surely flagged a number of real issues that need addressing. Key amongst them is whether we possess the necessary technical skills to płay out from the back, starting with a keeper whose strengths surely lie elsewhere, which in turn has a knock on effect to the defenders in front of him. If PL is intent on persisting with that approach, then it probably means a change of personnel.

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RobITFC added 21:57 - Oct 20 We always lose when Alex Mathie is on radio Suffolk , he is back again Saturday!
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RobITFC added 22:00 - Oct 20 Hopefully we bounce back against Lincoln ?
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