On the day Boro agreed a deal to sell Rav van den Berg, the 4-0 thumping at home to Doncaster’s second string emphasised why the focus is now very much on incomings in the final weeks of the summer transfer window.
The lack of depth in Edwards’ squad was on show at the Riverside on Tuesday night. That said, Grant McCann made 11 changes yet his side eased into the second round. Edwards must have fumed at how comfortable a night this was for the third tier visitors. He described it as painful and one thing he hated was how heads dropped late on. That will be addressed.
Rovers raced into a deserved two goal lead in a shocking opening half an hour for Boro, before wrapping up the victory with two more goals late on. Most Boro’s fans had headed for the exit long before Edwards and his players set off on a lap of appreciation at full-time.
Edwards and Boro’s recruitment team know the squad needs strengthening and it will be. But the head coach will also demand more and better from the players already in his ranks. Boro will hopefully learn a lot from this setback.
On the eve of this first round tie Edwards purred about Boro’s rich history in the competition and vowed to take the game seriously. He was true to his word, only making five changes. But the fact that three of the four outfield players to come into the side were academy youngsters Law McCabe and George McCormick and full debutant Abdoulaye Kante highlights the lack of depth in the new head coach’s squad.
That will be addressed in the coming weeks, with Boro’s recruitment team working hard and pushing for new recruits.
Edwards’ focus is on the players currently at his disposal and the head coach was visibly unhappy with a lot of what he saw on Tuesday night. The defence looked uncomfortable and unsettled and at the other end of the pitch Tommy Conway was ineffective and replaced after an hour. Boro lacked intensity and could have no complaints at the outcome.
Boro trailed by two at the break and it could have been worse. The defence was chaotic and when Boro managed to get it forward to the unchanged attacking trio of Morgan Whittaker, Delano Burgzorg and Conway it didn’t stick.
Both first half Doncaster goals were heavily deflected but the League One side were very much deserving of their advantage. They were still given a leg-up by Boro, though, who cheaply conceded possession in the build-up the opening goal and let Rovers pick their passes unchallenged in the build-up to the second.
Doncaster were lively from the off and it took them just 11 minutes to break the deadlock, aided by Boro’s sloppy play in their own half. McCabe’s pass was weak but the midfielder was bailed out. Neto Borges was not. His half-hearted clearance was intercepted, allowing Jordan Gibson to pick out Billy Sharp, who teed up Close in the box to fire in off the unfortunate George McCormick.
The goal sparked something of a brief improvement from Boro, who almost levelled when Delano Burgzorg’s strike crunched the post before goalkeeper Ian Lawlor did well to deny Morgan Whittaker.
But Boro’s defence looked nervous and vulnerable and Doncaster’s second goal just after the midway point of the first half was far too easy. The visitors picked their way through unchallenged before a cross from the left found the completely unmarked Damola Ajayi, Alfie Jones this time the defender to desperately lunge and deflect the ball beyond the helpless Tom Glover.
The third goal should have come when Billy Sharp picked out Jordan Gibson with a pinpoint cross but the left winger somehow headed wide of the open goal.
Edwards was visibly unhappy with a lot of what he saw in the first half, and Boro were slightly improved early in the second half, Brittain advancing and Whittaker going close.
Edwards turned to his bench and the big hitters, with Hayden Hackney, Aidan Morris and Dael Fry introduced.
But there was no fightback, and instead salt was rubbed into the Boro wounds. Robbie Gotts fired in the third goal six minutes from time and there was still time for Tom Nixon to add to the misery deep in stoppage time.
