Defeat to Sunderland pummels Doncaster Into relegation battle in Football League One

A defeat to Sunderland on Monday has thrown Doncaster back into the relegation zone in League One football.

Doncaster have established themselves as a strong League One outfit over the last five years. They endured their worst start to League One football this season. The club registered just four points from their opening seven games this season. They also suffered a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Ipswich Town. Despite being temporarily out of the drop in November, they are back in a relegation scrap.

Toothless against Sunderland

Doncaster went into Monday's fixture sitting 21st in the table. A draw would have ensured that they would retain their position in the standings.

However, problems arrived as early as the 7th minute of the game. Brandon Horton stuck out his leg to trip Sunderland's Leon Dajaku inside the box. Sunderland wasted little opportunity to turn home the advantage from 12 yards out.

Doncaster were lucky that they did not end up conceding as many as four goals in the first half. However, a couple of minutes before the interval, the indecisiveness of Rovers' back four costed them again. It allowed Elliot Embellton to tuck a long ball into the back of Doncaster's net.

Sunderland killed off any hopes of a miraculous comeback by Doncaster as early as three minutes into the second half. Alex Pritchard's long hit was deflected back into goal by Doncaster defender Ben Blythe. The Reds went on to lose the game 3-0.

Inexperienced centre-backs a cause of concern

Centre-backs Ben Blythe and Joseph olowu are is 19 and 22 respectively. This is Doncaster's first-team centre-back pairing. For a division that boasts the likes of Alex Pritchard, Ross Stewart and Callum Lang among others, Doncaster have relatively inexperienced personnel. They have conceded 39 goals this season already, They have the fourth-worst defence in the league behind Cheltenham, Fleetwood Town and Morecambe.

Doncaster's only chance of survival now invariably lies in buying experienced centre-backs in the winter transfer market. Despite being out of the League Cup and the FA Cup, operating with this pairing for the rest of the season can be a sure recipe for disaster.

What lies ahead for Doncaster?

Doncaster have two winnable fixtures early on in January. This includes games against Fleetwood Town and fellow strugglers Morecambe. Unless they pick up full points from these games, getting out of the drop will become incredibly difficult. To compound matters, high-flying Wigan will pay a visit to Keepmoat a week after those games, followed by MK Dons.