Richie Wellens cites where Doncaster Rovers were better than Stoke City despite Cup exit

A youthful Rovers side down on numbers went behind to Tom Ince's tap-in late in the first half with Sam Surridge's third goal in a Stoke shirt sealing victory for the Potters.

But on a night when they were missing a number of senior players, Rovers' passing football delighted Wellens and augured well for the future. The result did not tell the whole story, in his view.

He said: "I thought some of our young kids were outstanding. You look at the average age of that squad, Ben Blythe, Branden Horton and obviously, we made a change with Charlie Seaman coming on and (there were also) Matt Smith and Aidy Barlow.

"There were so many positives and really good performers. In the big moments, they showed their quality and we hit the first man with too many crosses.

"When they get in wide areas, they (Stoke) whip it in, miss the first man and put it in dangerous areas. But I think, if you take both boxes out, we were better than them. I thought our rotations were good and we passed the ball really smoothly.

"It is just in both boxes where they were physical in the defensive one and they got some real quality at the top end of the pitch."

Rovers may have done it tough in terms of results and player unavailability so far this term during the early part of Wellens's tenure, but the Doncaster chief is steadfastly looking at the bigger picture, which he believes is rosy.