Within 25 minutes, Doncaster found themselves two goals behind to underdog Gillingham, and a repeat of the 0-4 loss to Fleetwood of a fortnight ago looked to be on the cards. For the second consecutive game, the home fans had been rendered speechless, whilst the revelry of a few coach-loads of bemused travelling fans carried across the Keepmoat Stadium.
To their credit, Rovers went all out after the break; scoring twice in the first 12 minutes of the second half, through a scrappy John Marquis toe poke and a Mallik Wilks header, and with dominant midfield play from Ali Crawford, Ben Whiteman and James Coppinger, looked certain to score a third.
However, Doncaster didn’t convert their chances (Rovers would outshoot the Gills by an agonising 32 to three) and it was Gillingham who went ahead on 88 minutes when John Marquis lost his man on a corner; Max Ehmer capitalising to give the Gills a ruthlessly efficient three goals from three shots.
It was frustrating stuff for the home fans and all looked lost until Paul Taylor equalised with a deflected shot from distance the in the first minute of injury time. Taylor had come on as a late substitute in the spot usually taken by Alfie May and showed enough threat and intent in his brief appearance to give the manager something to think about.
All credit to the Rovers for their resilience and determination in twice coming from behind, but this was a game they should have won.
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