Opposition boss Danny Schofield felt Carlisle United were the victims of one of Doncaster Rovers’ best displays since he took charge.

The Blues began 2023 on a losing note as they went down 2-1 at the Eco-Power Stadium.

Goals from James Maxwell and Kyle Hurst were enough for Donny despite a late Kristian Dennis reply.

And head coach Schofield felt his side warranted the result.

“It was a really good game,” he said.

“In particular the first half from us was excellent, and in the second half we showed a different side to us, and scored a really good goal within that time.

“Overall the performance deserved the result.

“The lads have definitely implemented a way which we’re trying to do. All credit to the players. I do agree that was one of the best first-half performances since I’ve been here.”

READ MORE: Big match verdict on Doncaster 2 Carlisle 1

While United remained fourth after the defeat, Doncaster moved up four places to eighth, two points behind Paul Simpson’s Cumbrians.

Schofield, meanwhile, felt United’s late consolation goal should not have stood.

Explaining why he was in regular conversation with the officials, Schofield told the BBC: “It was just [about] little decisions I felt were coming away from us a bit – 50-50 decisions that could have landed either way, we weren’t getting many of those.

“For the goal, I thought it was a foul on Charlie Seaman, [although] I’m not 100pc, I’ll have to watch it back.”

For Doncaster it was a better outcome against Carlisle than their previous meeting – a 3-0 loss at Brunton Park which triggered the sacking of Gary McSheffrey, and former Huddersfield Town boss Schofield’s appointment.

He added to his club’s media outlets: “First contacts, second contacts…we nailed that. It’s something me and my coaches worked hard to improve after the last game.

“It was excellent for James Maxwell [to score]. He took a lot of messages on board, which we’re trying to improve him on, he attacked well and deserved his goal.

“Back-to-back wins is massive. It’s not easy to come by in professional football and we’ve done it.”