Five-star Rovers delight Dickov

Paul Dickov hailed a "thoroughly deserved win" after Donaster roared to their first victory in four games by thumping Crawley 5-0.

Rovers extended their unbeaten run away from home to nine games with five different goalscorers against a Crawley side forced to play the final 23 minutes with 10 men following the sending-off of skipper Joe Walsh. The Wales Under-21 international defender received a straight red card for throwing a punch at Doncaster striker Nathan Tyson. Dickov admitted the game could not have gone much better for his team and said: "To a man, it was a fantastic performance and I got the reaction I wanted following our defeat against Walsall last weekend." Skipper Andy Butler gave Rovers a 38th-minute lead and the visitors added four goals in the second half through Richie Wellens, Tyson, Harry Forrester and substitute Curtis Main. Dickov added: "Before Forrester scored the fourth goal, we passed the ball 28 times and, for me, that is very pleasing indeed. "We are unbeaten in our last nine away games and long may that continue. We have got to take a lot of positives out of this performance." Crawley's interim manager Dean Saunders admitted it was an "awful, disastrous night" after seeing his team crash to their fifth defeat in the last six games. The Red Devils are four points adrift of safety and Saunders is demanding a much-improved display at home to Barnsley on Saturday. The former Liverpool and Wales striker said: "This is embarrassing for everyone at the club and for me coming against a side I have managed. "It is an awful, disastrous night for us. We were hanging on after only five minutes and Doncaster were better in all departments. As a footballer you must pass and move and we didn't. "Doncaster had eight or nine players who appeared in the Championship and it showed. They were miles better." This was Saunders' first home defeat since taking over from John Gregory and he stressed that the manner of the performance was simply unacceptable. He added: "It was a disastrous scoreline and we have to regroup for Saturday. I want to see a reaction from everybody. "If you can't keep the ball, you will get beaten against sides like this. Ninety-nine per-cent of the players care, the ones that don't will be leaving. "We got outclassed and the likes of Wellens, Keegan and Kyle Bennett played in the Championship and they looked head and shoulders above us. "To lose 5-0 is a crushing blow for everybody. It's embarrassing as I've told the players I have to go out and defend them and I don't know if I can." Saunders branded the 67th-minute sending-off of Walsh as "stupid" and added: "He will be out for three games and it was a stupid thing to do. "It kills your team-mates who are left to battle it out for the last 30 minutes. "The last thing they needed was the captain getting sent off. I'll watch the game again, then I will get a plan for Saturday because none of the players are safe."