Okenabirhie fuels Doncaster’s push towards play-off challenge
DONCASTER ROVERS remain firmly in the hunt for the League One play-off spots after a slender but deserved victory at home to struggling Bolton.
Rovers have now lost just two of their last 10 and remain on the coat-tails of the top six, sitting just two points shy of sixthplaced Portsmouth.
The hosts should arguably have been ahead inside the opening five minutes but first James Coppinger and then Ben Whiteman saw efforts neatly saved by Bolton stopper Remi Matthews.
Doncaster kept plugging away and eventually the pressure told, shortly before the interval.
Fejiri Okenabirhie slotted home to settle Rovers’ nerves.
The forward has now notched two goals in four outings for the
South Yorkshire club since arriving from Shrewsbury last month.
And barely three minutes after the restart Rovers found themselves two goals to the good.
Niall Ennis nodded in from a precise Coppinger centre to make it 2-0.
Just when it looked as though Rovers would go on to extend their lead, Wanderers scored a shock goal. Joe Dodoo pounced on an error from home ‘keeper Seny Dieng to halve the deficit.
Dieng played a poor ball out to Ben Sheaf, who returned the favour only for Dieng to dawdle on the ball.
That allowed Dodoo to nip in and tap into an empty net.
That gave Bolton, who remain bottom and 18 points from safety, some hope.
But in truth they rarely looked like stealing a share of the spoils with the best they could muster coming via a Luke Murphy effort which sailed over the bar. Doncaster: Dieng, Halliday, Wright, Anderson, James (John 45), Whiteman, Sheaf, Sadlier, Coppinger (Ramsey 86), Ennis, Okenabirhie (Cole 72). Unused substitutes:
Taylor, Jones, Blair, Watters
Bolton: Matthews, Emmanuel, Hobbs (Mellis 60), Bryan (Delaney 85), Fleming, Dodoo, Murphy, Lowe, Hamilton, O’Grady, Murphy.
Unused substitutes: Bunney, Faal, Graham,
Alexander
Referee: J Oldham (Derbys).