Doncaster Rovers brush off summer cobwebs with two-hour runout and comeback win at Alfreton

Less than 20 miles away from Nottingham on a warm, July night Rovers played two separate, 60-minute warm-up matches against non-league side Alfreton. The emphasis here, as it always is in these kind of games, is on fitness. To that end, a full hour into the legs of the vast majority of his squad will have pleased Grant McCann as his players put the first building block in place ahead of a League One return.

Rovers, sporting their new dark blue and yellow trimmed away strip, fielded two experimental teams with seven of the eight summer arrivals on display across the two outings.

Of those newbies, Glenn Middleton probably caught the eye most in his cameo with some nice touches and glimpses of the quality that saw him play a big role in steering Dundee United to fourth spot in Scotland's top division last term. The new man thought he'd make a quickfire start to his Rovers career when he provided a cute finish from a nice Jack Senior pick-out but the assistant referee's flag brought that joy to a premature end.

Thimothee Lo-Tutala, another new acquisition that gave a big boost to the fanbase this summer, was kept relatively quiet in the opening half-hour aside from a smart stop when he raced out to produce a sprawling save to keep out an Alfreton attacker at the back-post. However, the returning goalkeeper was unable to do anything to prevent the National League North hosts from taking the lead when Josh Clackstone converted a penalty that was awarded after a clumsy Matty Pearson foul in the box.

Spurs loanee Damola Ajayi was in the right place at the right time to level up matters when he pounced after Billy Sharp and then Owen Bailey saw attempts blocked. Lo-Tutala came to the rescue again just before the conclusion of the first match, with a good, alert save with his feet after Pearson was caught in possession in his own half.

After a brief stoppage, it was all-change as Rovers swapped their entire XI with the only eye-raiser being the inclusion of 18-year-old academy full-back Harry Glaves. He took his opportunity in the absence of Jamie Sterry and played a big role in Rovers going in front, making a surging run upfield and feeding Luke Molyneux, whose pass into George Broadbent resulted in the midfielder caressing the ball into the bottom-right corner.

Rovers enjoyed more of the ball as the second hour ticked on, understandable against a tiring Alfreton side stacked with trialists. Molyneux's driving run in the final quarter of the game resulted in Brandon Hanlan tapping in a third that looked to have killed any hopes of a comeback.

And despite the plucky hosts pulling one back thanks to a tidy finish from a trialist, Rovers saw out the win.

Rovers' first half XI: Lo-Tutala, Nixon, Bailey, Pearson, Senior, Westbrooke, Flint, Sbarra, G Middleton, Ajayi, Sharp

Second half XI: Lawlor, Glaves, O'Riordan, Grehan, Maxwell, Broadbent, Close, Clifton, Molyneux, Hanlan, Gibson.