Tom Anderson explains what Doncaster Rovers did wrong against Shrewsbury

Namely, their inability on the night to move the ball quickly in the second half and take Shrewsbury out of their comfort zone after grabbing a shock opener and then building the equivalent of two brick walls as they successfully repelled the hosts’ quest to fight back at the Keepmoat Stadium.

The net result was that Rovers’ run of fourth consecutive victories ended on a night when the tantalising prize for a win would have been topping League One at Christmas Day.

The busy itinerary means that Doncaster will move on quickly, with Darren Moore’s welcoming the division’s other surprise packages in Accrington Stanley on Boxing Day.

On the defeat to Steve Cotterill’s Shrews, who followed up 1-0 wins at Lincoln City and Hull City to triumph by the same margin at the Keepmoat Stadium and tarnish Anderson’s 100th appearance for Rovers, the defender said: “It was frustrating. The performance was there, but the result wasn’t.

“Shrewsbury are well-drilled and Steve Cotterill has gone in and they are doing very well at it. But we have got to be more creative and move it quicker.

“In the first half we did it well and they did a few tactical changes in the second half and made it more difficult for us. It is still down to us to break that down.

“They worked hard and got across the pitch well and when the striker drops in, it was two blocks of five. But we should have taken something from the game.

“We have to dust ourselves down, not get too down about it and focus on the next game.

“Sometimes, it does not happen in football and we should have kept the back door shut and conceded from a set-piece and for myself, I am not happy with it.

“We cannot be too down about it, we have been on a good run and one bad result won’t change us and we will get ourselves going again.”

Shrewsbury headed into the game after a ten-day break following their previous fixture, with their scheduled weekend game at Sunderland postponed due to a Covid-19 outbreak affecting the Wearsiders.

With several League One clubs being affected by Covid-19 issues, the league schedule is affording some teams more rest than others, but Anderson is philosophical about the sitration.

He added: “It is weird times at the minute and we have to take each game as it comes and not look too far ahead or look back. We have to make sure we recover right and eat well and work hard in training to prepare.

“(Next opponents) Accrington have done well and they are a hard-working team who stick together and we will have to be right on it.”