Five talking points following Doncaster Rovers’ defeat to Mansfield Town

The humbling defeat left Doncaster five points adrift of the League Two play-off places and a 1,600-strong away end at the One Call Stadium deflated.

Here’s five things to consider after a bad day at the office.

Inconsistency

It has been Doncaster’s Achilles' heel all season and despite some improvements under Danny Schofield, the 22/23 campaign continues to be blighted by this problem.

Back-to-back wins over the festive period have now been followed by consecutive defeats.

Rovers have lost just as many games as they have won – 11 – this term. That’s mid-table, not promotion, form.

Defensive vulnerabilities

This is another problem that continues to plague Doncaster.

Schofield rightly pointed out how easy it is for teams to score against his team, who have kept just four clean sheets in the league. It was the most critical he’s been of his side to date.

Conceding after just 25 seconds is a new record for Rovers this season and for the seventh time this term they conceded three or more goals in a single match.

Yesterday was their worst defensive performance of 22/23 in terms of goals conceded.

Only four teams in League Two have a worse defensive record than Doncaster, whose goal difference is now -8. All of them are in the bottom five.

Promising debuts

All five on Doncaster’s January signings made their debuts yesterday. Those who were on the pitch long enough to have an impact made a positive first impression.

Ben Nelson, who played 90 minutes on the left of a back three, looked comfortable and confident on the ball and defended well when called upon, despite the scoreline.

James Brown was energetic off the bench and looked a threat getting forward on the right-hand side, while Caolan Lavery was also heavily involved in the final third and might have grabbed a debut goal.

Don’t be surprised if all three are involved from the off against Hartlepool next weekend.

The case for two strikers

It’s a convincing one and paid dividends earlier in the season when Kieran Agard briefly came into the starting XI to support George Miller, who in turn looked a bigger goal threat.

Two great chances fell to Miller in the second half yesterday, one of them assisted by his strike partner Lavery.

Doncaster’s chance creation improved considerably after the break with two forwards on the pitch. There were zero efforts on target in the first period.

Miller’s drought continues

Despite an improved overall performance from Leyton Orient, that’s now eight games without a goal for George Miller, who missed two golden chances yesterday.

It also underlines the potential need for some more support (see above point) for Doncaster’s No. 9.

The arrival of Lavery could bring with it some stiffer competition for a starting spot, which may also lift some pressure off 24-year-old Miller, who has carried the team at times this season with his goals.

He can’t be expected to be firing on all cylinders all of the time.