Doncaster Rovers 0 Stockport County 2: Toothless Rovers' winning streak comes to an end

Coming into the game without a win in six matches, the Hatters were hardly sparkling, but whilst Rovers failed to lay a glove on them, County made their chances count.

Former Premier League player Ben Osborn produced a moment of quality to put the visitors in front in the second half and Kyle Wootton used his strength to good effect to send the visitors back across the Pennines with all three points.

Doncaster, by contrast, failed to have a single shot on target all night.

Tetchy in the face of Stockport's physical first-half approach, they were just flat in the second. It turns out three straight wins, two of them against League Two Chesterfield, were not the start of a mid-season surge after all.

The first half was more notable for Stockport's heavy-handed tackling than the football played.

Owen Bailey and Billy Sharp both needed treatment after hefty whacks – that the former got his from Joseph Olowu on the centre-back's first game back at the club he left in the summer did nothing to endear him to the home support.

Sharp – isolated with Harry Clifton on the bench to accommodate a three-man midfield – let his frustration boiled over when he was booked for dissent late in the half and within seconds George Broadbent was cautioned for a foul – a costly one as it took him to the five-card threshold for a suspension in the final game before the slate was wiped clean.

He was substituted in the second half rather than risk another, more costly booking.

Rovers had more of the attacking play in the first 45 minutes, but it was not saying a great deal.

Luke Molyneux shot wide when the free-kick for Olowu's foul was touched to him in the 13th minute, and deflections took the sting out of Jordan Gibson's shot when Sharp bundled the ball to him.

Molyneux did well to make space for a shot in the 37th minute but from a tight angle it went beyond the far post.

Not that there was much happening at the other end either.

Jay McGrath smothered Jack Diamond's shot when the former Harrogate Town loanee went past Broadbent and good as Tayo Edun's reverse pass was, it left Malik Mothersille with little space to try and squeeze the ball past Thimothee Lo-Tutala.

Former Halifax Town forward Wootton had a shot blocked and although Diamond went rather easily around McGrath in first-half stoppage-time, his shot was comfortably dealt with by the goalkeeper.

It was the Hatters who came out the stronger after the break – and made it count.

Connor O'Riordan giving the ball away playing out of defence was a sign of things to come, Mothersille's weak shot less so.

Charlie Crew's pass pinged to Jordan Gibson, who first-timed it to Sharp deserved at least a shot, but Rovers were unable to get one away,

A spell of Stockport pressure saw Molyneux booked for a foul as he tracked back, then Osborn hitting the crossbar direct from a corner minutes after.

Not to be denied, the former Sheffield United player hit a shot which gave Lo-Tutala no chance after Doncaster kindly donated the ball to him.

Seven minutes later they doubled their lead, Wootton holding off O'Riordan to glance Diamond's cross into the net.

Although Harry Clifton had a shot blocked when played through and fellow substitute Ben Close flashed a shot wide, you never felt Doncaster would score. In between those efforts Odin Bailey steered a Wootton lay-off wide.

It was a loss with a whimper.

Rovers need more firepower in the new year if they are to meet their own lofty expectations.

Doncaster Rovers: Lo-Tutala; Sterry (Senior 74), O'Riordan, McGrath, Maxwell (Ajayi 74); Broadbent (Close 62), Crew (Clifton 74); Molyneux, Bailey, Gibson (Hanlan 62); Sharp.

Unused substitutes: Lawlor, Grehan.

Stockport County: Hinchliffe; Olowu, Hills (Hunt 69), Pye; Gardner (O'Keeffe 78), Osborn, Bailey, Edun (Dodgson 84); Mothersille (Moxon 84), Diamond (Lowe 84); Wootton.

Unused substitutes: Fevrier, Addai.

Referee: M Woods (Airdrie)