Rovers 1-1 Preston
A stoppage time equaliser from Nathan Tyson gave Rovers a deserved point.
Paul Dickov introduced three changes from Saturday’s defeat as Rovers looked to bounce back from that disappointment.
Curtis Main and Harry Forrester were unavailable, due to injury and suspension and Nathan Tyson dropped to the bench. Kyle Bennett, Mark De-Val and Theo Robinson, were all given starts.
The game didn’t start well for Rovers, when captain Rob Jones was injured after only 10 minutes and was replaced by Liam Wakefield. This saw Reece Wabara go to centre half, and Wakefild went to right back.
The Lilywhites came full of confidence and started positively, seeing much of the ball early on, without creating any clear-cut chances.
Then after a quarter of an hour, Rovers settled into the match dominating the rest of the first half.
James Coppinger threatened the Preston goal on two occasions. One having ran from the half way line, beating three men. However, he couldn’t find the end product to give his side the lead. The second was a shot that deflected just past the post, and behind for a Rovers corner.
More chances came and went for Rovers in the opening 45 minutes. The best fell to Robinson, who was released one on one with Jones, but the Lilywhites keeper made a save at his near post.
Rovers struggled to find the same levels and dominance during much of the second half, despite Mark De-Val almost scoring a free-kick from 40 yards, which saw Jones make a save a full stretch.
Then on 65 minutes, Rovers were made to pay for missing their chances when Chris Humphrey hit a screamer from 25 yards that left Jed Steer with no chance and gave the Lilywhites the lead.
Rovers went in search of an equalizer and Nathan Tyson was sent on, in place of Dean Furman.
That substitution worked wonders two minutes into stoppage time, when Tyson scrambled home a Rovers equalizer, from two yards, to rescue a point for his side.
Relief was felt all around the Keepmoat as Rovers avoided back to back defeats and got the point there performance deserved.
Rovers team: Steer, Wabara, Jones © (Wakefield, 12), McCullough, Evina, Keegan, De-Val, Furman (Tyson, 71), Bennett, Coppinger, Robinson.
Unused subs: Marosi, Whitehouse, Askins, Peterson, Middleton.
Preston team: Jones, Clarke, Wright, Humphrey (Hayhurst, 71), Kilkenny (King, 62), Gallagher (Hayhurst, 88), Garner, Woods, Davies, Brownhill, Browne.
Unused subs: Stuckmann, Wiseman, Davies, Welsh.
Attendence: 6,513 (874 away)