Barnsley FC 1 Doncaster Rovers 3: Rovers forced to cash in their insurance policy to progress in EFL Trophy

Facing a Barnsley team who had already been knocked out of the competition in their final group stage, the visitors retained only Jack Senior from the side which had won at Bradford City on Saturday but needed to bring three more of that team to get the job done at Oakwell.

Kyle Hurst, who was supposed to be one of those resting, played a huge part in getting them over the line with a 3-1 win.

The game was drifting towards a scoreless first half when Joe Ironside, the son of two generations of Barnsley goalkeepers in Roy and Ian, headed his side in front.

It was no less than Doncaster deserved, with the first half reflecting the state of the group and the XIs picked. But it did not shake the hosts off as they might have hoped.

Where Rovers fielded the players on the fringe of their first team, Barnsley's 11 changes went beyond the fringe, once more using the Trophy as a development opportunity rather than one for scraping off rust.

So it was no surprise that most of the early play was in Barnsley's defensive third, but perhaps not with enough goalmouth action for Grant McCann's liking.

Played in by the lively Joe Sbarra flashed a shot wide in the third minute. It was Sbarra played through next, with the night's only full debutant Kieren Flavell rushing out to meet him. The ball fell for Jordan Gibson but Grant McCann's son Bayley got back to make an excellent goalline clearance.

Gibson showed good feet in the 16th minute but his sho was deflected wide, and Flavell saved well when Ironside got on the end of a left-wing cross.

But as the Rovers storm blew itself out a bit the game slumped into a bit of a stupor in front of an understandably sparse 1,816 crowd.

Although Ben Close was able to release Tom Nixon, Kryan Lofthouse tracked his man diligently to ensure he did not have the space to trouble Flavell with his shot.

It would have been very costly with Vimal Yogananthan threading Aiden marsh through a minute later but Ian Lawlor was alert to save with his feet.

Ironside's header might have spared his team some harsh words at the interval although knowing their manager McCann, perhaps not.

Barnsley started the second half with their best spell of the game, Yoganathan taking a shot in his stride and just putting it off target, Fabio Jalo setting an effort wide of the near post without getting the curl back he wanted.

But whereas Barnsley's bench could only add youth, with Callun West coming on for a debut, Doncaster's was a fully loaded insurance policy.

Almost as soon as Ephraim Yeboah, Hurst and Harry Clifton followed Owen Bailey onto the field in a triple substitution, Brandon Fleming played a clever ball down the line for Hurst, who picked out Clifton to make it 2-0.

Barnsley, though refused to gave up, Conor McCarthy glancing in a header after McCann's piledriver was blocked. Rovers responded by throwing on Luke Molyneux.

McCann needed to produce more defensive heroics when Hurst got hold of a shot thundering towards the top corner when he got his head on it. Hurst, though was not to be denied, volleying in a dropping ball quickly after. The amount of time Molyneux had in the area to control it and play it to him might feature in Barnsley's video analysis of the game.

It was Hurst more than anyone who made the difference, forcing a save at 2-1 and at the heart of the late pressure Doncaster applied with their hosts finally beaten.

The McCanns finished the night with a hug posed for mum, armed with her phone in the stands, Grant having got the victory he wanted, Bayley having shown Clarke what he is capable of.

The win should be important for Rovers, who will value this competition because it allows them to keep a deep squad ticking over.

Barnsley: Flavell; McCarthy, Bland (Dyer 80), McCann; Cotter, Nwakali, Benson (Barratt 60), Lofthouse; Jalo, Yoganathan (West 68), Marsh.

Unused substitutes: Nejman, Makiessi, Kozluk, Wilson.

Doncaster Rovers: Lawlor; Emmanuel, Anderson, Senior (Bailey 60); Nixon (Yeboah 69(, Close (Molyneux 79), Kelly, Fleming; Sbarra (Clifton 69); Ironside, Gibson (Hurst 69).

Unused substitutes: Sharman-Lowe, Sharp.

Referee: E Bell (Bootle)