Carlisle United 1 Doncaster Rovers 2 - Ben Whiteman secures FA Cup progression
Doncaster Rovers booked their place in the FA Cup third round as two first-half Ben Whiteman goals helped them beat Carlisle United at Brunton Park.
Jon Mellish’s late reply meant an uncomfortable final 15 minutes for the League One side, but Darren Moore’s men eventually overcame Chris Beech’s Carlisle.
After Mellish had wasted a great chance for the League Two hosts, lifting the ball over the bar from close range, Doncaster went in front after 32 minutes when Whiteman was fed by Josh Sims and finished with his right instep from the edge of the box.
Eight minutes later, he doubled Donny’s lead when his shot from outside the area found the bottom right corner.
But 12 minutes from the end of normal time, Carlisle finally got one back when keeper Joe Lumley could not hold onto a far-post header and Mellish reacted quickest to offer the Cumbrians hope.
But Doncaster survived, to leave Moore full of praise for midfielder Whiteman.
“When Ben gets into those positions he’s got a calm head and everyone knows he’s got the quality,” he said.
“I think the contact on the ball, the precision and the detail of both finishes were excellent.
“He was tightly marked today but he managed to evade his marker on those occasions, to devastating effect for them and great effect for us.
“That will do him the world of good. We had to come up here and be absolutely professional in our performance.”
Carlisle: Farman, Tanner, Hayden, Bennett, Anderton, Riley (Dixon 70), Mellish, Guy, Toure (Alessandra 70), Kayode, Patrick, Dixon (Reilly 90). Unused substitutes: Devine, Hunt, Furman, Dewhurst.
Doncaster: Lumley, Halliday, Anderson, Wright, Amos (Lokilo 52), Whiteman, James, Richards (Gomes 63), Smith, Sims (John-Jules 75), Okenabirhie. Unused substitutes: Jones, Butler, Coppinger, Hasani.
Referee: S Oldham (Lancashire).
Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers. Click HERE to subscribe.