Doncaster Rovers lost 2-1 to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in a tight match that saw the visitors fight back with a late goal but fall short of an equaliser.
Grant McCann made two changes to the starting line-up that beat Burton Albion the previous weekend, bringing in Tom Nixon and Isaac Hutchinson to replace Brandon Hanlan and the injured Jordan Thomas.
First Half
Rovers looked threatening from the start. A clearance in the opening moments found Leon Ayinde, who dribbled into the box but his pass into the middle was cut out. A 10th-minute free-kick from George Broadbent into the box caused Leicester problems, with a series of shots and blocks before the ball was cleared for a corner.
Leicester responded four minutes later with a low cross from Louis Page, but Nixon got ahead of the Leicester forward to knock it out for a corner. Rovers went straight on the counter-attack, with Ayinde sent through but his drilled pass found no teammate.
Tommy Simkin faced his first pressure in the 25th minute when a looping ball reached Harry Souttar, whose 6 ft 6 frame allowed a header that forced a low save from the Rovers goalkeeper. The game remained end-to-end, with Owen Bailey showing brilliant movement before spraying a pass wide for Ayinde, whose cross was blocked.
Leicester carved out chances in the final minutes of the half. A through ball set up Louis Page, but Jay McGrath cleared his attempted backheel. Page powered another shot goalwards late in the half but it went wide. Russell Martin's side had the best chance of the half so far when Luke Thomas set up a looping cross for Emil Riis, but the forward couldn't bring his header down.
John Lundstram struck a long-range thunderbolt in added time that Tommy Simkin couldn't stop, with the volley flying into the back of the net. Leicester led 1-0 at the break.
Second Half
Leicester opened the second half with a threatening chance as Lundstram pulled the ball back across the face of goal, but Gotts cleared. Rovers responded immediately with a floating cross from Nixon around May, though an opposing defender nipped it off his toe.
McCann brought on Brandon Hanlan to replace Hutchinson in the 57th minute, eager to increase attacking output. Three minutes later, Leicester doubled their lead. Kamari Doyle netted a curling effort that landed in the bottom corner of the net, far from Simkin's reach.
Rovers pushed forward and Nixon attempted a long-range shot that deflected off a defender and landed in the goalkeeper's gloves. McCann made three more substitutions in the 69th minute, bringing on Bayley McCann, Hakeeb Adelakun and debutant Will Keane to replace Nixon, Broadbent and Ayinde.
Adelakun looked to make an immediate impact in the 75th minute when Gotts sent in a curling cross towards the far post, though Adelakun's touch went wide. The substitutes continued to threaten Leicester's clean sheet, with McCann sprinting up the wing to cross in a powerful ball on the byline. Adelakun connected perfectly but his shot went narrowly wide of the bottom left corner.
Rovers were rewarded for their persistence in the 84th minute. Hanlan's brilliant footwork out wide allowed him to fizz a ball into the box, and while a Leicester player attempted to take the ball off May's feet, his toe poke ended up in the back of the net, making it 2-1.
Leicester reacted quickly though, and minutes later Will Alves fired a powerful shot that thundered off the bar and went out of play. Rovers kept the pressure on but were unable to find the second goal. The match ended 2-1 to Leicester.