Darren Moore hailed a “special win” for Doncaster as the League One side brushed aside coronavirus-related disruption to beat Championship Blackburn 1-0 in the FA Cup third round.
Taylor Richards’ 25-yard strike which squirmed under the arms of Aynsley Pears towards the end of the first half proved to be enough as Doncaster registered their second victory in their last three visits to Ewood Park.
It avenges Doncaster’s Carabao Cup defeat at the same venue earlier this season and is all the more impressive considering the visitors have not played for two-and-a-half weeks due to Covid-19 issues.
After notching a seventh win in nine, delighted Doncaster boss Moore said: “To get into the fourth round, we’re really pleased because of the time we had off and the time we had to work, and we’ve had to reshuffle the pack today.
“It has been difficult because there are individuals missing. But we’ve had to get on with it and prepare as best as we can.
“I’m pleased with that because of in terms of the time we had to work together, I look at what they did today and they were absolutely superb, so I can’t ask any more. They have rewarded themselves with the fourth round.
“The difference today is we had more stamina than we had back then (Carabao Cup defeat). I felt we ran out of gas, but today we were able to sustain ourselves more and stay in it. We could have used the ball better. But the other side of the game, our defending off the ball, was excellent.
“It’s a special win for us.”
Blackburn manager Tony Mowbray said his side had ‘no excuses’ after suffering a fifth defeat in eight, but challenged his players to make their domination count in future.
He said: “Well done to them. They made it difficult for us. It was a game we dominated, practically from start to finish, and yet we didn’t create as many chances as we wanted, and when we did, we didn’t take them.
“Twenty-odd attempts is pretty common for us. I think we’ve had the most shots in the league.
“How many goals are we scoring? We lost 1-0 at Stoke, we lost 1-0 at Bristol (City), we lost 1-0 today, we scrambled a 1-1 draw against Sheffield (Wednesday), we’re not taking as many chances as we’re creating. It is an issue when games come along like this when you don’t take your chances.
“(Bradley) Dack had a great chance that nine times out of 10, he normally bulges the net, and yet the keeper made a good save. (John) Buckley doesn’t make any contact towards the end there.
“A frustrating day for us but no excuses.”
