Richie Wellens' delight at effort from Doncaster Rovers in Lincoln City draw

Rovers were the better side in the second half of a tight game in which clear cut chances were few and far between.

And while he was disappointed Rovers did not test the opposition keeper more, Wellens was happy with the effort of his players after another disrupted week.

The Rovers boss revealed Ben Close and Jordy Hiwula were due to play in the game following their respective injuries but withdrew late in the week, forcing a change to plans.

“All we can ask for is the players to give us absolutely everything,” Wellens said.

“We worked on a gameplan and had to change it. We worked on another game plan and had to change that.

“Ben Close was close but he dropped out. We thought Jordy Hiwula would make it and then he dropped out.

“We’re having to flip and change it all the time.

“The basics of football are run, tackle, fight, heart, match your opponent, spirit - I think all of them things we showed in abundance.

“I thought the crowd was excellent in the last 25 minutes. They stuck by us, knew we were pushing for the goal.

“I’d like to think we deserved a goal but because we didn’t test the goalkeeper enough, a point was a fair result, against a good team as well.

"We looked like a team that was fighting and scrapping.

"Every single week we get dealt a two and a seven and we're just doing the best we can at the moment.

"We had to change what we were planning on Wednesday, and then again on Friday, and again at half time because John Bostock was injured.

"We're getting a bad hand every week and we're just doing the very best what we can.”

Rovers had the better of the possession in both halves but were sluggish in their forward play before the break.

In the second half their tempo improved and they looked the more likely to win it.

"I thought we controlled long periods, but sometimes were a bit slow and didn't play forward passes quick enough or at the right angles,” Wellens said.

“When we played it straight into the middle of the pitch they were a threat because they counterattack well. They’ve just played Wigan away, set up the exact same way and won 2-1 by countering the same way.

“We knew if we gave them silly balls away or played straight passes in the middle of the pitch they’ve got good energy and pace in the team.

“When we got it, got our rotations right and got it in the areas where we wanted to, we looked a threat.

“We got it into pockets but then we had a touch, turned it down and ended up coming back.

"It was a really good performance but the little negative was we didn't move it forward quick enough or test the keeper enough."

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