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Fergie on cloud nine at Rovers’

THEY may have only just crept into the top half of the table but Doncaster are League One’s in-form side with nine points in a week ensuring they finish 2017 on a high.

Six goals scored, none conceded and three straight wins has made this a very merry Christmas for Darren Ferguson and his boys, with their latest victory against Rochdale a formality at the Keepmoat Stadium.

Alfie May netted his first goal since September and his sixth of the season, while Ben Whiteman also struck as Rovers flexed their muscle inside the first 30 minutes to see off a side stuck in the relegation zone and without a league win in five games.

But a third clean sheet on the bounce is what Ferguson will cherish most and he is hoping to utilise their new-found resolve and push for a top-six spot in the new year.

“We’re on the best run we’ve been on this season, it shows that if you get a bit of consistency then you can climb the league, now our focus is on the next game,” he said.

“The start helped us and we look good at home, we look confident and the mentality within the group is good, in the sense that we’re capable of winning games in different ways.

“We’ve got to try and stay consistent and not let the good run affect us.

“I’ve been delighted with the players and we always knew that we had to get some wins at this stage of the season.”

Rochdale arrived with their confidence already fragile following a Boxing Day defeat at Blackburn and conceded inside four minutes as Whiteman lashed a shot into the top corner from the edge of the box.

Andrew Cannon should have levelled for the visitors from Ian Henderson’s pinpoint cross but he hit the bar from just a yard out.

And typically they were punished minutes later as May’s shot deflected in off Kgosi Ntlhe.

Rochdale pushed hard but lacked the quality to seriously hurt Doncaster, who are now unbeaten in their last four games.

“I think we were wellbeaten,” said Rochdale boss Keith Hill.

“They were on the front foot, they showed more courage and more commitment, and that’s why they took a two goal lead.

“With respect to Andy Cannon’s opportunity when it was still 1-0, that is a small margin within the 95minute game.

“But over the whole course of the whole game, Doncaster deserved to win.”