Doncaster 1 Walsall 2: Rovers left feeling sick again by Keepmoat loss

It may be a different face in the dug-out in Darren Ferguson as opposed to Paul Dickov, but the former will currently be feeling just as his predecessor did on a fair few occasions during his tenure. A lack of ruthlessness in both boxes in home matches was a not infrequent Dickov refrain and it will be something that his fellow Scot will be lamenting today.

It was all the more galling, given that Rovers had produced a reply of sorts to last week’s pretty loose home display against Port Vale with a far more satisfactory offering in the first period.

But the inability to sustain levels of concentration at the back and patience on the ball ultimately let them down with Sean O’Driscoll afforded a pleasing, if not wholly straightforward first Keepmoat return after departing in 2011.

Two goals in the space of four minutes after the hour mark from Sam Mantom and Andy Taylor exposed Rovers’ defensive deficiencies as the Saddlers moved up to second spot and claimed their fourth successive win in Doncaster.

A fine strike and first senior goal in Rovers colours from teenage substitute Liam Mandeville 10 minutes from time at least salvaged a crumb of consolation.

But five home games without a win is the overriding statistic staring Rovers in the face – with the talk of a possible play-off push at the start of the New Year now seeming a distantt memory.

Ferguson is a savvy managerial operator and will have known full well that a concerted top-six tilt was always likely to represent the tallest of orders. Rebuilding is his modus operandi and he could do worse than look at Walsall as the perfect template.

O’Driscoll is presiding over a talented crop of fresh-faced talents, surely the prototype for the likes of Doncaster – a comparable club in terms of size and resources – to follow.

Rovers ended the game with Mandeville – whose delightful solo effort provided a first competitive goal that he will always treasure – and fellow academy products Mitchell Lund and Harry Middleton on the pitch, in perhaps a glimpse into the future somewhere down the line.

Employing a 4-1-3-2 formation to match up with a Walsall side showed a clear mark of respect to the Midlanders from the off and it worked well enough from a containment perspective with debutant goalkeeper Chris Neal afforded a relatively quiet time of it.

The avoidance of going behind in the opening half-hour, as has frustratingly been Rovers’ wont at home of late, will have been another welcome tick in the box – as the sight of visiting dangerman Tom Bradshaw feeding off scraps will also have been.

But the pertinent issue was at the other end in terms of Rovers laying down an offensive marker and despite not exactly shaking Walsall to their foundations, they had them rattled on occasions in an at times encouraging half.

Rovers had the better of it with a particularly vibrant spell around the half-hour mark almost yielding a breakthrough on three occasions – with the fare a distinct improvement on the previous week.

First, Aaron Taylor-Sinclair clipped the bar with a volley following James Coppinger’s corner before Middleton’s shot was held by ex-Harrogate Town goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray.

Walsall were starting to look vulnerable at the back and Andy Williams soon spurned a highly presentable chance, curling wide with plenty of the goal to aim at after shrugging off Paul Downing.

Some sporadic pockets of neat easy-on-the-eye interplay in midfield from the Saddlers bore the classic O’Driscoll hallmark, but a couple of token efforts from Mantom and ex-Rovers loanee Milan Lalkovic was all they conjured in the first period.

Attentive at the back in the early salvos of the first half they may have been, but Rovers almost paid the price for switching off shortly after the restart with Walsall going mighty close to a corner. The unmarked Downing saw his point-blank header hit the post from close-range in a real let-off for the hosts. It was the prelude to the visitors upping the ante with Lalkovic hitting an effort saved by Neal.

Rovers were starting to stray from the script, much to the concern of Ferguson and his worries increased just after the hour mark when the visitors forged a breakthrough when Mantom was afforded time to power forward before unleashing a rasping left-footed strike from distance which flew past Neal.

It got worse with a short corner routine catching Rovers cold with Romaine Sawyers’s cross only half-cleared and Taylor firing home with the aid of a deflection for a poor concession. The game was petering out before Mandeville slalommed through and curled home a cracker and was then denied by MacGillivray – but Walsall held out.

Doncaster: Neal; Alcock (Lund 82), McCullough, Taylor-Sinclair, Evina; Keegan; Middleton, Coppinger (Mandeville 67), Chaplow (Stewart 67); Williams, Gooch. Unused substitutes: Subs: Marosi, Whitehouse, Lecygne, Davies.

Walsall: MacGillivray; Demetriou, Downing, O’Connor, Taylor; Chambers, Mantom; Forde, Sawyers, Lalkovic (Henry 76); Bradshaw. Unused substitutes: Preston, K Morris, Cook, Kinsella, Roberts, B Morris.

Referee: B Toner (Lancashire).