Doncaster progress to EFL Cup third round after beating Accrington

Aug 26, 2025 1 min read
Owen Bailey scored as Doncaster beat Accrington (Martin Rickett/PA)
Owen Bailey scored as Doncaster beat Accrington (Martin Rickett/PA)

Owen Bailey came off the bench to send Doncaster into the Carabao Cup third round with a 2-0 victory at League Two Accrington.

Top scorer Bailey was introduced after 67 minutes and headed home fellow substitute Glenn Middleton’s corner eight minutes later before setting up Ben Close for a second on 82 minutes.

Josh Woods had seen red for Accrington after collecting his second yellow card on 71 minutes.

Doncaster boss Grant McCann made 10 changes from the side which beat Port Vale on Saturday while counterpart John Doolan made seven for Accrington.

Both goalkeepers were in action early on with Stanley’s Michael Kelly keeping out Tom Nixon’s fierce strike and Ian Lawlor denying Charlie Caton at the other end.

James Maxwell and Damola Ajayi also couldn’t find the target for Rovers in the first half.

Doncaster continued to press after the break with Kelly diving low to keep out Jordan Gibson’s 18-yard strike.

McCann made four substitutions as he changed the forward line-up.

Woods then had Stanley’s best chance after 70 minutes, forcing a save out of Lawlor, but a minute later he was sent off.

Bailey then put Doncaster ahead on 75 minutes before Close fired home from the edge of the area to make it a comfortable win for the League One side in the end.

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