ACCRINGTON Stanley picked up an invaluable three points in their quest to stay in League One with a fine 2-1 win at promotion-chasing Doncaster Rovers.

Stanley made three changes for the game, with Jonny Maxted in for the suspended Dimitar Evtimov in goal and Callum Johnson and Scott Brown out of the 18 altogether with Ben Richards-Everton and Paul Smyth coming in.

The Reds set out their stall and kept things tight early on, restricting Rovers to long balls and speculative efforts that left their supporters frustrated. As the 15 minute mark came John Coleman’s team began to create, with Ben Richards-Everton heading a Sean McConville header over when well placed.

Moments later the visitors hit the front, with a goal forged from counter attacking pace. Janoi Donacien played in Smyth down the right flank, the QPR loanee crossed and McConville stroked home his 11th of the season at the far post.

Doncaster’s best attempt at a response fell to captain Tommy Rowe who forced a good save from Jonny Maxted.

But Stanley might have doubled their lead when McConville met Jordan Clark’s right wing cross, took a touch to take a defender out of the game but then shot wide.

That miss made a Ross Sykes block to thwart the prolific John Marquis all the more important and in turn that proved telling when they went to the other end and found another goal on the stroke of half time.

This time it was all about the combination of Billy Kee and Smyth, with the former chesting down a forward ball and volleying it over the Donny defence for Smyth to burst onto it and lift it over Marco Marosi to make it 2-0.

After the break a double Doncaster substitution brought renewed impetus and the home side set about trying to get back in the game.

First though they had to survive a near own goal as a defender hit his own post but largely it was Stanley on the back foot.

Sub Kieran Sadlier rattled the bar with a strike from outside the box before John Marquis struck a shot over and Sadlier was off target with a similar attempt as Grant McCann’s side looked to find a way through. It didn’t look like it would come as Stanley stuck to their task but on the cusp of the 90th minutes they did find a goal when Danny Andrew’s free kick deflected over Maxted and into the net.

Two minutes of stoppage time were met furiously by the home fans and that only intensified when Sadlier struck the post in the dying seconds.

Stanley held on to be the first League One side to win at the Keepmoat since October and move five points clear of the bottom five.

Stanley: Maxted, Donacien, Sykes, Hughes, Richards-Everton, Clark, Conneely, Barlaser, McConville, Smyth, Kee.