Doncaster Rovers talking points: Tactical red herring, Storm Darragh havoc and promotion positives

Storm struggles

This game will probably be best remembered for the shocking weather that both sides - and supporters - had to contend with.

Storm Darragh put paid to a handful of other fixtures in the Premier League and EFL and despite this contest getting the go-ahead, the swirling wind played havoc with both side's attempts to play any kind of cohesive football.

Far too many passes went astray or straight out of play and from a Rovers perspective they were unable to produce many passages of easy-on-the-eye football. It ended being who could cope better with the unpredictability of it all.

"The wind contributed to the game," midfielder George Broadbent admitted. "It's always going to be difficult for Ted (Sharman-Lowe) kicking into the wind."

His manager Grant McCann also said it was a major issue: "I was sick and tired of seeing the ball go out of play first half!"

Thankfully, Rovers ended up taking something from a game that was understandably low on quality.

Home form a clear concern

Grant McCann must feel like he's starting to sound like a broken record.

Another home game, another case of Rovers not taking their chances. The wretched form at the Eco-Power Stadium has now stretched to just one win in their last seven in the league, with three straight draws seeing their automatic promotion stall ever so slightly. A large reason as to why they're not winning on home soil is the fact they're giving themselves too much to do. This was the fifth straight home game the opposition have opened the scoring, with Rovers not winning any of those games.

"I don't think we've really got going at home," admitted a frustrated McCann post-match.

"I can't remember the last time we went in the lead here. (Note: It was Barrow at home - the last time they won a game in DN4).

"We keep having to respond and react. And we can do it. And it's a really good trait to have. But what I'd like us to do is take the lead and see if we can take the game to somebody. We'll keep working though, and it'll come."

Tactical decision explained

When the teamsheets landed at 2pm, many of a Rovers persuasion, including the local media, were puzzled at how they were going to line-up.

The inclusion of Luke Molyneux, Kyle Hurst, Joe Ironside and Billy Sharp had many scratching their heads at what exactly the formation would be. 4-4-2? 4-2-2-2? In the end it was neither. There was a red herring of sorts, with Jamie Sterry deployed as part of a back three, with Molyneux acting as a wing-back.

McCann admitted to the Free Press that the experiment didn't work, hence why he aborted it at the interval. They changed to a more familiar 4-2-3-1 and it certainly saw an improvement thereafter.

"We knew Cheltenham played different ways. We wanted to try and get Luke (Molyneux) high in positions up the pitch, so we were almost a bit lop-sided (first half)," he said.

"But it didn't work for us. That's why we changed it at half-time. Listen, it's my responsibility but also there's a little on the players too for not getting it right."

The positives

A promotion campaign is full of peaks and troughs (hopefully far more of the former than the latter) and McCann is adamant that is what Rovers are going through right now on home turf.

To put this result into context, Rovers have lost just one of their last 11 league outings. They are also still third, just four points off pace-setters Walsall.

"In any season you do go through spells where you just have to grind it out," he said. "I've been through these spells when I've been promoted whether as a manager, at Hull, or as a player where people think you're not quite doing it. But it's about not losing, about picking up a point.

"We've done that again today. I know we're not happy with that but hopefully these points will help us when we start winning three, four in a row. We can then look back and think 'you know what? they're not bad points."