Rovers put an end to Ipswich Town’s six game unbeaten run in Sky Bet League One with a convincing 4-1 victory after goals from Cameron John, Ben Whiteman and Fejiri Okenabirhie.
There were two changes to the team that beat Portsmouth 1-0 at the weekend with Matt Smith and Josh Sims coming in for James Coppinger and Reece James to make their home debuts.
Sims was quick into the action orchestrating Rovers’ first attack of the game. Within five minutes he cut the ball back into the box towards Jon Taylor, but he was unlucky to see his ball denied by the Ipswich defence.
The visitors’ responded quickly when Emyr Huws picked up a loose ball inside Ipswich’s attacking half and took aim on Bursik’s goal from distance, but it was easily scooped up by the England U21 international.
The Tractor Boys took the lead on the 15th minute after Luke Chambers’ low cross was turned into the net by Joe Wright.
This did not hinder the spirits of Rovers who kept hacking away at the opposition.
Rovers were given an opportunity to equalise after a weak pass from Ipswich goalkeeper Tomas Holy ended up unexpectedly at the feet of Sims whose shot was blocked on its way through. The rebound ended up at the feet of Smith on the edge of the area, but he could not convert his shot.
Rovers eventually found an equaliser through Cameron John after Smith won back possession in midfield and fed it through to the defender who thumped the ball off the crossbar and into the back of the net.
That equaliser kick-started the game for Rovers with relentless attacks on the visitors’ goal. The most notable effort came from Madger Gomes who dragged a shot wide from distance.
Rovers then turned the game on its head in the 37th minute with another sensational goal from Darren Moore’s men. A Ben Whiteman free kick from 30-yards out deceived Holy and snuck past the Czech.
Moore’s side picked up where they left off as the second half got underway, piling pressure on Ipswich’s defence.
As the hour mark passed Rovers extended their lead when Sims won a penalty – he drew in the foul from the visiting defender after a stinging run into the 18-yard box. Captain Whiteman calmly slotted the ball past Holy into the right-hand side of the net.
Within minutes of the third goal Fejiri Okenabirhie got his first of the season and Rovers’ fourth of the evening by capitalising on a mistake from Town’s defence and fired past Holy from the edge of the area.
There was no mercy from Moore’s side who continued to pile the pressure on a deflated Ipswich and even had a shout at a second penalty after Taylor was brought down inside the area.
The Rovers number 11 was a nuisance to the Ipswich defence with his pace down the right wing which continually attracted fouls – which ended with James Wilson receiving a yellow card for one challenge.
The game marked Rovers’ first win against Ipswich since 2011 and the team will hope to keep the good times rolling as they aim to make it three wins on the bounce as they welcome newly promoted Crewe Alexandra to the Keepmoat Stadium on October Saturday 24.