ROWE A CROCK OF GOLD

Tommy back Donny lift to give

TOMMY ROWE is aiming to turn Doncaster into serious promotion contenders following his dramatic comeback from injury.

The Rovers captain had been sidelined for 10 weeks with a hamstring tear but stepped off the bench to fire a late winner against managerless Wimbledon.

The visitors led in the 26th minute when Mitchell Pinnock collected a fine pass from Kwesi Appiah and rifled a low left-foot shot into the net from 12 yards.

Doncaster drew level in the 35th minute when Ali Crawford seized possession from a quickly-taken free-kick and curled a delightful right-foot strike into the top corner.

Chances were scarce in the second half before Rowe engineered the space to strike home a left-foot shot from 18 yards with four minutes left.

The result ended a six-match winless run for Grant McCann’s men.

Rowe said: “It was just great to get on the pitch, first and foremost.

“Ten weeks out is a long time and I am delighted with the result and the lads’ togetherness.

“They have had to manage me well as it is the type of injury where it can go either way.

“In the next two weeks, you should see more of me. The main thing is minutes for me and getting my sharpness back. This is something which will give me so much more confidence and it is something that can spur me on even more and get me to the levels I need to be quicker, hopefully.

“The biggest thing for me in football is momentum. When you are on a high and on a run, it is good and stays with you.

“We needed something to kick-start us back into a winning routine and hopefully this is it.”

The Wimbledon hierarchy are assessing applications for their vacant manager’s job after axing Neal Ardley last week.

Caretaker boss Simon Bassey has not applied but said: “AFC Wimbledon is a club I care about a lot and I’m going to keep working until the new manager comes in.”