Darren Ferguson was happy with Rovers’ overall display despite going out of the Checkatrade Trophy on penalties against Rochdale.
The game finished 1-1 in 90 minutes after Liam Mandeville’s strike cancelled out Matty Gillam’s first half opener, and the manager felt his side played well in stages.
He said: “We’re really disappointed to go out as we lost at the same stage last year, I can’t fault the players’ effort in their performance.
“We started off really brightly and had two cleared off the line in the first few minutes, we did a lot of good things and handled the battle well.
“We conceded a penalty while Mathieu Baudry was off the pitch so we had to respond well and managed to score a really good goal.”
Ferguson named a strong starting XI for the game at the Crown Oil Arena, and says that was an indication of how much he enjoys the competition.
“The average age of the squad was still quite young but we had a lot of experience out on the pitch with the likes of Craig Alcock and Matty Blair,” he added.
“The players that needed a game got one, we made a few changes from Saturday but I’ve always said how much I enjoy this competition so we’re all disappointed to be out.
“I was pleased with a lot of things, we played a couple of different formations throughout the game so I was impressed with how many of them responded to that.”
Tickets for Rovers’ FA Cup second round tie against Scunthorpe United at the Keepmoat Stadium are available from the Club Doncaster Box Office, on 01302 762576 or at tickets.clubdoncaster.co.uk.