It’s not often you come away from a Rovers home defeat pleasantly surprised, but this 1-0 reverse against Stevenage was one such occasion.
Incoming manager Danny Schofield made the brave move of leaving skipper Adam Clayton on the bench, and this paid off in spades with a commanding midfield performance from Ben Close and eventual man of the match Harrison Biggins – the latter being only the width of the crossbar away from scoring one of the finest goals the Keepmoat has ever seen, a stunning 60-yard drive from inside his own half.
As for the visitors, they were well organised and pressed as a unit, as well being as adept in time-wasting and the dark arts as any Steve Evans side. But aside from the goal they offered nothing in a game that Rovers dominated for the most part. The goal itself was maddeningly simple. Rovers failed to close down Arthur Read who whipped in a cross to the back post for Jordan Roberts to head home unmarked. A rare lapse in what was an otherwise solid team performance.
Rovers huffed and puffed in the second half with Kyle Knoyle and Luke Molyneux causing Stevenage plenty of problems on the Rovers right-hand side, but it wasn’t to be. When Biggins somehow headed wide from Molyneux’s perfect cross late on it was clear this wasn’t to be our night.
On the whole, a decent team performance, a star showing from Biggins and some kamikaze defending from Ro-Shawn Williams. Much to enjoy.
by Rob Johnson
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