Dale were knocked out of the League Cup in cruel circumstances, as a very late goal was enough to separate the two sides.

Trips to Doncaster were never something you associated with the 21st century. Previously it had been games in thick fog, self inflicted fire damage to the main stand, fans carrying a coffin to the ground and the most tinpot pitch invasion known to the footballing world.

So it was something of a surprise to finally visit the Keepmoat Stadium. Yes, its an identikit modern stadium, but it looked to be something that they've got right from top to bottom, and its hardly surprising that Rovers are now a yo-yo club between the Championship and League One, when for long periods the Conference looked too much for them.

On the pitch, the results from the opening day impacted on the starting line ups. With a 3-0 win in the bank, we were allowed to make changes to our starting line up with four changes, whilst our hosts went with their strongest possible side.

And it showed for the opening stages. The gulf in class looked evident for the first twenty minutes, and we couldn't really deal with a Doncaster side that weren't really getting out of first gear. We became a little reliant on the long ball, and bizarrely enough 6'10 defender Rob Jones mopped everything up at the back for Rovers, and they enjoyed good movement from out wide into our box.

But something changed around the 25 minute mark. I have no idea whether it was tactical, but we started doing what we do well and that's playing football. We started retaining possession and we looked like we were there to compete. We weren't exactly forcing chance after chance, but we were in the game for the first time.

And that tended to be the continuing pattern for the remainder of the game. Indeed, for long periods of the second half, I don't think it would be unfair to say that we were well on top of last season's League One Champions. Whether I was getting a bit giddy, but I felt there was only one team in this game who was going to score.

And so came the sucker punch. A free kick was curled into the box, and it was headed past an outstretched Lillis into the far corner. A cruel blow and very much undeserved, but I guess taking chances is the difference between Championship and League Two.

We came close to sneaking something in injury time, with a couple of close chances, but it was not to be. I know its a cliché, but it was certainly a game to take far more positives from negatives and on the evidence of tonight, it was the home side who were left with more question marks about the season ahead. Things are definitely moving in the right direction for ourselves.

Photo: Action Images via Reuters