After losing midweek’s must-win game against the basement boys Hartlepool United, Rovers welcomed table-topping Leyton Orient to the Eco-Power.
Orient are managed by none other than Richie Wellens who enjoyed a good playing career at Doncaster, but not so good a management spell.
The visitors started much the better side than Rovers with Idris El Mizouni and George Moncur both going close – the latter forcing a brilliant save out of Jonathan Mitchell. But then a moment of pure brilliance gave Orient a deserved lead. Paul Smyth flicked the ball up in the box to set himself up for a stunning overhead kick to send the ball into the top corner and receive a standing ovation from the home crowd. At the half-time whistle that noise changed to boos, and rightly so.
The second half saw a reaction from Gary McSheffery as he made three half-time substitutions to try and turn the tide. It brought a slight improvement as Rovers started to attack the Orient goal at last. After Moncur had forced Mitchell into another good save at the other end, Ben Close’s shot caused a goalmouth scramble around the hour mark. Then Kyle Knoyle sent a cross in from the right which was headed in by Harrison Biggins for his first Rovers goal.
What had certainly been a game of two halves saw itself out from there, but the jury is still rightly out on McSheffery’s management; so much talent yet we play so naïvely.
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