Midweek Takeaway: Pure focus from Doncaster Rovers delivers a demolition job of Ipswich Town that will get plenty of people talking

“It’s certainly one to stick in my library and look back on over the weeks and months to come because I thought it was a great game.”
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Darren Moore is unlikely to be the only one keen to revisit Doncaster Rovers’ stunning demolition of previously unbeaten Ipswich Town.

The Rovers boss sat back in his chair after completing the formalities of his post-match press duties and hung around to simply chat about the enthralling spectacle that had just played out at the Keepmoat.

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It was a really good game of football between two sides that worked their socks off to try to stop the opposition but also produce threat of their own in a tireless fashion.

Cameron John fires Rovers ahead against Ipswich Town. Picture: Howard Roe/AHPIXCameron John fires Rovers ahead against Ipswich Town. Picture: Howard Roe/AHPIX
Cameron John fires Rovers ahead against Ipswich Town. Picture: Howard Roe/AHPIX

A good advert for League One you might call it.

But in particular it was a really good game for Rovers who showed both sides of their armory to run out deserved winners, particularly after slapping a stranglehold on the match in the second half.

In terms of statement wins, ending the unbeaten record of the league’s pacesetters and trebling their number in the goals conceded column is pretty emphatic.

And it will see those whispers of Rovers being potential dark horses for promotion grow considerably more widespread.

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One place such talk will not pervade is Doncaster Rovers Football Club. The manager won’t allow it and neither will his squad, who remain just as focused on the next game as the gaffer insists they do.

There was no getting carried away after a superb win at Portsmouth. Instead there was a clear focus on getting the job right against Ipswich.

They needed clear heads too, to deliver the sort of work out of possession that ensured they were never bullied out of the contest by a side that arrived in DN4 on a wave of momentum.

It perhaps threatened to tip that way when Joe Wright unfortunately turned into his own goal after 15 minutes, which hit Rovers and raised their visitors.

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But the equaliser just before the half hour mark, when Cameron John powered into the box and smashed in off the underside of the crossbar, was just what Rovers needed to settle, find themselves again and begin to take control.

There was a major element of fortune when the brilliant Ben Whiteman curled a cross over the heads in a packed penalty area and watched it bounce over the line.

But it represented a shift in the balance of the game and Rovers rarely looked back.

They harried Ipswich in the second half to ensure they never had a chance to settle. And they showed the ruthlessness to twist the knife when opportunities presented themselves.

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First, when Josh Sims shows blistering pace to leave Aristote Nsiala panicked enough to haul him down, allowing Whiteman to fire home from the spot.

And then when Fejiri Okenabirhie powered in the strike his tireless and often thankless efforts in the final third so richly deserved.

Pure and utter focus from Rovers got the job done and served up a performance that will raise the volume of the chatter about them.

It definitely bears repeat viewing.

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