Exeter manager Gary Caldwell was furious at the decision to award Doncaster a late penalty which condemned his side to a 1-0 defeat.
Substitute Kevin McDonald was penalised for handball by referee Ross Joyce and Luke Molyneux fired home the resulting spot-kick in the 88th minute.
Caldwell felt the decision went against guidance on the handball rule he had been given in a briefing earlier in the week.
He said: “I was on a Zoom call for two hours and told clearly that a handball decision would need to be deliberate or somebody’s arm would need to be in an unnatural position and it’s just hit his hand.
“It’s difficult for referees and I feel sorry for them because I think they have a thankless task, but when we’re told one thing and then something else happens on the first day it’s very difficult to accept and I think when he watches it back he’ll know that he got it wrong.
“Otherwise, in the second half, I couldn’t see us winning the game, but I couldn’t see us losing the game either. I thought defensively our set-up was excellent.
“We gave them very little space to play in and they created very few chances.
“I just wanted us to be a bit better in possession. I also thought we created the best chance of the game early on and you have to capitalise on those moments and then create more of them.”
Grant McCann praised the patience of his Doncaster side.
Last season’s League Two champions dominated the attacking play but found an organised Exeter a tough nut to crack.
“I thought it was a really good, controlled performance from us,” McCann said. “We had to be patient.
“We moved the ball well and had some really good chances without showing that killer instinct. But it was a difficult game.
“Exeter surprised us a bit with their shape. We’ve seen them play in different ways in pre-season and they did that later in the game when they brought players on.
“They were difficult to break down and credit to Gary Caldwell with their shape, with the five, the three and the two.
“We had to be patient and I reminded the lads of that at half-time and said the opportunities would come. We got our break when we just needed it and it was calm from Mols to put the penalty away.
“All in all, I felt we deserved the three points.”
