United, until this point in a half-way house with 12 points from a possible 24, were looking to put their season into a more positive light.
Their 2-1 win over Watford last Saturday had restored some belief after the 6-0 hiding at Arsenal, and now they were looking to put a few past their Championship new-boy neighbours.

Rovers, who started the night fourth from bottom, had their own agenda...to get away from the murkier end of the table that sends you back to League One.

To do that, they needed to re-discover their goal-touch, though.
Instead, an own goal from Gareth Roberts gifted United a half-time advantage.

The full-back diverted Danny Webber's cross beyond Neil Sullivan in the 14th minute for the only goal of the half as the home side continued to struggle in front of goal.

They have only scored four goals in all competitions this season and the reasons why shone through as Darren Byfield, Jason Price and Martin Woods all wasted good chances.

James Beattie had already forced Sullivan into a smart low save by the time the goal came, and when it did it brought about a second own goal in as many games from the home side.

Matt Mills was the culprit in Saturday's loss to Southampton and this time it was Roberts who had the dubious honour of finding his own net.

It was no more than the visitors deserved for their organised start to the game, although Doncaster did improve and should have been level by the interval.

Byfield was the first to go close, although it seemed easier for him to score from a yard after Paddy Kenny had parried Mills' header, while Brian Stock was unfortunate to see his drive crash back off the bar following a mazy run.

The momentum swung in Doncaster's favour, with Price the next player to spurn a good chance, sidefooting tamely at Kenny after he had shaken off the last covering defender.

The opportunities continued to come as Woods scuffed a shot wide after a neat passage of play, although Beattie issued a reminder of United's capability when he flashed a header wide.

On the hour United bought themselves some extra security when Stephen Quinn made it 2-0. It was enough to ease their passage.

United played with a clear sense of authority as the clocked ticked away.

Doncaster ran out of ideas and resorted to long-range efforts from Woods and Richie Wellens, as Quinn's industry and energy prevented them from getting their passing game going.

Rovers have now failed to score in six of their 10 games this season and have only netted four times in total, and the way in which they failed to work Kenny in the closing stages must surely be of huge concern to O'Driscoll.

The closest they came was another embarrassing close-range miss from Byfield, while United cantered home despite losing Greg Halford to a nasty-looking injury.

Full assessment in Wednesday's Star.

Teams
Doncaster: Sullivan, O'Connor, Roberts, Mills, Stock, Byfield, Lockwood, Wilson, Woods, Wellens, Price.
Subs: Van Nieuwstadt, Chambers, Guy, Hayter, Heffernan.

Blades: Kenny, Halford, Naysmith, Morgan, Kilgallon, Beattie, Webber, Speed, Sharp, Quinn, Naughton.
Subs: Henderson, Hendrie, Montgomery, Dyer, Ehiogu.