Doncaster boosted their survival hopes with a thrilling 3-2 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.
Coppinger nets winner in five-goal thriller
Doncaster boosted their survival hopes with a thrilling 3-2 win over Blackpool at Bloomfield Road.
James Coppinger grabbed the winner for Doncaster with Charlie Adam seeing red for Blackpool on his debut.
Brian Stock cancelled out David Vaughan's opener to send the sides in level at the break.
Sam Hird gave the the visitors the lead in the 54th minute but Blackpool equalised immediately through DJ Campbell before Coppinger hit the winner after being played in by Stock.
Sean O'Driscoll's men are now unbeaten in six Championship encounters and this latest success will give them further belief that they can avoid the drop.
The encounter was a relegation six-pointer with both sides languishing in the lower reaches of the Championship, but Doncaster were buoyed by their recent run of impressive form.
Yet Blackpool - whose relegation fears returned after this result - began brightly with debutant Adam prominent in the early exchanges.
In the seventh minute Campbell and then Adam both tested Rovers goalkeeper Neil Sullivan with long-range shots, but the former Leeds stopper saved both efforts comfortably.
In the 13th minute, Sullivan was forced into a superb save, tipping Adam's 20-yard strike around a post before Blackpool opened the scoring two minutes later.
Opener
Vaughan was afforded the time and the space to turn on the edge of the 18-yard box and fire a left-footed shot beyond Sullivan and into the bottom corner.
Yet Doncaster came roaring back and were rewarded in the 26th minute when Coppinger crossed dangerously and Stock hit a 20-yard shot into the bottom corner.
Ian Evatt then headed over the bar for Blackpool but neither side could find a second goal before the break.
The Seasiders should have regained the lead in the 49th minute when Adam crossed dangerously and Gary Taylor-Fletcher headed over the crossbar.
And they were punished in the 54th minute when Paul Heffernan crossed from the right flank and Hird fired home right-footed from six yards.
Equaliser
Remarkably, the lead lasted just 60 seconds as Taylor-Fletcher crossed for Campbell to similarly fire home from six yards.
But the momentum swung back in Doncaster's favour when Stock played in Coppinger down the right flank and he swept home a superb left-footed shot into the corner from 18 yards.
Campbell had a chance to equalise for a second time when he hit a left-foot shot over over the crossbar and their hopes were finally over when Adam was sent off in the 77th minute for a foul on former Blackpool midfielder Richie Wellens.
