And then the wheels fell off the tractor. Nothing is ever a certainty in football, even if you have just one defeat in 12 and are playing the bottom placed side, without a win in 12 games. Time to question the teams direction again, or just a blip?
Unchanged teams are all the rage at Ipswich these days, and so it was for the first ever trip to the Keepmoat Stadium.
Well, almost unchanged. Because Gareth McAuley, a player who has been much maligned through the early stages of his career, was not able to travel with his place going to Alex Bruce.
And how it demonstrated how misplaced much of that early criticism had been. The captain has grown and grown in the side over the last month and as if to well and truly prove the point, the defence were lost without him.
Without McAuleys composure bringing the ball out of defence, it was left largely to Richard Naylor to distribute, something which did not particularly work in Towns favour. With Naylor generally struggling, so Alex Bruce found himself struggling too as the partnership creaked.
Richard Wright will find himself with distinct memories of his performances earlier in the season; solid and composed, with a couple of good saves, he still found himself without a clean sheet or a win despite not being particularly busy, especially during long spells in the second half.
Moritz Volz has had better days in an Ipswich shirt and seemed challenged on several occasions against a bright and energetic Doncaster side.
In midfield, there were also distinct memories of performances earlier in the season. Players struggling to find any kind of way into the match, positions being switched with regularity in order to try and help this process and a general lack of energy about the performance.
No midfielder really managed to get any kind of foothold into the game. Shumulikoski had a very quiet game, in part perhaps as a result of the formation for much of the second half, where he was the only non-attacking midfielder on the pitch and therefore was required to operate deeply.
The only midfielder to leave the pitch with credit was David Norris, who put in another typically energetic and determined performance. Given the enormous media attention on him during the week, the performance was all the more impressive.
That said, Darren Ambrose provided a glimmer of the quality we are all aware he is going to be able to provide. One sensational volley in the second half very nearly made it a memorable second debut, alongside a few bright touches, but overall he was another looking for a path into the game. As with other midfielders, being asked to perform in a variety of roles probably did not help.
Up front, Kevin Lisbie had another frustrating game, with very little in the way of service which he strives for. It would seem that his recent spell in the side is likely to come to an end very shortly in favour of either Stead or Counago, both of which are probably due their own opportunity again.
Similarly, Jon Walters produced another fairly disappointing performance. Aside from one excellent knock down for David Norris, which the midfielder ought to have scored from, Walters failed to add significantly to the game. Whilst it was no surprise that he was substituted, it actually came at a point when he was probably having his strongest spell of the match. Nonetheless, it remains that he has struggled to recover the sparkling form he displayed last season. With David Norris comfortable in the right midfield berth, the arrival of Darren Ambrose, and two other forwards desperate for an opportunity, Walters himself might find his position threatened in coming weeks.
And yet, despite the general discomfort in defence, despite the lack of any midfield rhythm and despite the anonymity of the forwards, Town still created the best chances in the match and could quite conceivably drawn or won the game. In those circumstances, we would reflect that winning or drawing when not at your best is the sign of a strong side.
Inevitably, the ability of the side to bounce back from defeat is critical. The form over the last month or so has been gradually improving and it is imperative that the momentum is quickly restored. However, whilst much of that form has come with a settled team of players, it is perhaps time to rest some of that team and use the large squad in the way it is intended.
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