MARQUIS BAGS DONNY DOUBLE
DARREN Ferguson was chuffed to bits with Doncaster Rovers’ ruthlessness at struggling Leyton Orient, as the leaders scored three times in the second half to claim victory.
Tommy Rowe opened the scoring for Rovers in the 36th minute, but Tom Parkes finished off a stunning move to level just before the break.
Unfortunately for Orient the class of Doncaster showed after the restart, as John Marquis bagged two before Mathieu Baudry volleyed home a fourth.
“Once we got the second goal we were pretty ruthless, but in the first half we didn’t do the basics well enough,” said Ferguson.
“We were ill-disciplined and I did speak before the match about being aggressive and trying to play the first half like the second in terms of winning the first half because we thought they would make it hard.
“But we were a little bit too open to the counter-attack, so we said at half-time ‘let’s do the basics right’.
“We knew if we were more concentrated and disciplined then we would get chances and we missed three good ones at 1-1, but the second occurred because of great pressing and it’s an outstanding finish and the third and fourth killed it.”
Although Doncaster deserved the points, Orient battled well and tested the leaders in the first half.
Rowe fired into the corner to put the visitors ahead, but Danny Webb’s side hit back with a stunning equaliser. Parkes intercepted the ball midway inside his own half and combined excellently with Gavin Massey before slotting into the corner.
Webb said: “It was a good goal and a good counter-attack. I thought we were playing ever so well and it is disappointing we are not talking about an equaliser which got us a wellearned point.
“But mistakes were made and we looked a bit shaky as the game went on and we truly got punished.”
A poor pass by Aron Pollock gifted Marquis an opportunity ten minutes after the restart and he rifled into the corner.
The former Orient loanee then ensured Doncaster would claim the points in the 77th minute as he fired home Gary McSheffrey’s centre.
And Baudry concluded the scoring with a sumptuous volley, though didn’t celebrate out of respect for his old club.
Orient’s next battle is on Monday as they face a winding-up petition in the High Court over an unpaid tax bill.
“You tell yourself ‘what doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger’ so hopefully we come out of the positive side of it,” added Webb. “I don’t know which way it is going to go and I should imagine that is the priority for everyone connected with the club now.”