Frustrating night all round for Doncaster Rovers as plucky Bromley escape with win

Despite dominating possession and chances, Grant McCann's side just couldn't find a breakthrough on a hugely frustrating night in DN4.

Chances came at a plentiful rate but none were taken, with the visitors' goalkeeper Grant Smith in inspired form all evening. In the end, one of the few Bromley attempts on goal ended up being the difference.

Rovers made two changes but perhaps the most significant alteration by McCann was the tactical reshuffle that saw them revert to a 4-2-3-1 set-up. Jamie Sterry and James Maxwell, making his first start since suffering a fractured metatarsal on the opening day of the season, were the beneficiaries in a return to a more familiar formation after the experiment with a 3-5-2 at Swindon.

Initially it looked as though it would be only a matter of time before the move paid off: Rovers started like a house on fire, peppering the visitors' goal with regularity in the opening quarter-hour. Maxwell, Patrick Kelly and Jordan Gibson all came close to breaking the deadlock but without applying the killer final touch. If they did find a way through then goalkeeper Smith often came out on top of personal duels.

At most levels that profligacy in front of goal will be punished sooner or later and so it was that Bromley took the lead against the run of play on 20 minutes. A corner was cleverly worked to Ben Thompson on the edge of the area. His initial attempt was scuffed but that only aided him as nobody in a red-and-white shirt reacted. That allowed him to compose himself and lash the ball home beyond the rooted Ted Sharman-Lowe.

Rovers almost drew level with their next attacking foray forward only for some last-ditch defending and goalkeeping to keep them at bay.

Bromley, in their first-ever campaign at EFL level, were in no rush to extend their lead and took every available opportunity to run the clock down thereafter. The most extreme example saw a yellow card rightfully, if not belatedly, shown to Danny Imray after a blatant show of time-wasting whilst debating taking a throw-in right at the end of the first half.

Rovers again came out the stronger after the restart but continued to find Smith in inspired form, keeping out a zippy Harry Clifton attempt from distance. He produced an even better save to push away a Patrick Kelly drive from outside the area, as Rovers upped the ante.

Grant McCann blinked first by bringing Billy Sharp and Kyle Hurst into the fray just after the hour mark to try and inject some urgency. Bromley, doing their best to soak up the ever-increasing pressure, almost pinched a second late on with Rovers' blushes only spared by a bout of pinball from a corner.

As the clock ticked, McCann's men became more desperate to make the breakthrough leading to rushed decisions and even more frustration from the terraces as Bromley held out for a coupon-busting win.

Rovers: Sharman-Lowe, Sterry, Olowu, McGrath, Maxwell (Yeboah 74), Kelly (Broadbent 75), Bailey, Clifton (Hurst 64), Molyneux, Ironside (Sharp 64), Gibson

Unused subs: Lawlor, Senior, Close.

Star man: Patrick Kelly. An encouraging showing from the West Ham loanee who was sharp all night and quick-footed.

Referee: Zac Kennard-Kettle.