Doncaster Rovers fall well short of looking like play-off contenders in Salford City defeat

The hosts dominated from minute one and might have scored more but for some desperate defending and wasteful finishing.

They managed no fewer than 20 efforts on goal, although more individual mistakes gifted them two goals.

Rovers announced the signing of Blackpool goalkeeper Stuart Moore on an emergency seven-day loan ahead of kick-off after Jonathan Mitchell was unable to shake off the injury he suffered against AFC Wimbledon last weekend.

Moore went straight into the starting XI for his first appearance since October 2021 against the second-highest scorers in the division.

And one of the 28-year-old’s first actions was to pick the ball out of the net following an uncharacteristic error from Joseph Olowu.

Olowu lost possession to Callum Hendry on the edge of his own area and the ball was squared to James Bolton to fire home from close range with 12 minutes gone.

But just two minutes later Rovers were level after being kicked into life.

Luke Molyneux pulled away from his marker and sent a low ball into the box where it was met by George Miller, who sent his effort over Doncaster-born Alex Cairns and high into the net.

Miller’s 13th goal of the season proved to be Doncaster’s sole effort on target.

Despite getting themselves off the hook they were unable to shake their sloppiness in defence and back came Salford with wave after wave of attack.

Hendry probably thought he'd scored but Moore managed to get enough on his low shot to deflect it onto the post.

Moore saved again from Hendry and Louie Barry, and looked to have kept his side on level terms at the break until he dropped a clanger.

With 38 minutes on the clock striker Stevie Mallan lined up a shot 30 yards from goal which should have resulted in a routine catch.

Moore looked to have it covered but the ball slipped through his grasp and bounced over the line.

There was no momentum swing after the interval as Salford continued their dominance.

Their wide men Bolton and Barry terrorised Charlie Seaman and James Brown all afternoon and linked up for the third goal just before the hour mark.

Teenager Barry, once on the books of Barcelona, beat his marker for the umpteenth time and sent a low ball into the six-yard box which was met by his teammate to double his tally for the afternoon.

Thankfully for Doncaster, with the damage done, Salford’s relentlessness cooled somewhat after the third.

As a section of disgruntled travelling fans voiced their displeasure, Danny Schofield went against his preference for playing with one striker and introduced Caolan Lavery from the bench.

Lavery’s first action was to play Miller through one-on-one but the latter hesitated and the chance was gone.

Miller found himself through on goal again moments later after a nicely weighted pass from another substitute, Liam Ravenhill.

This time he was quick to shoot but his dipping effort was deflected wide.

Six points separated Doncaster from Salford in the final play-off spot before kick-off.

The impressive Ammies demonstrated the standard required for a promotion push. Mid-table Rovers looked well off it on a humbling afternoon in Greater Manchester.