Doncaster boss Darren Moore praised captain Ben Whiteman for firing his side to a 2-1 FA Cup second-round win at Carlisle

The Rovers’ captain produced two clinical first-half strikes to avoid an upset at the hands of the Sky Bet League Two hosts.

Cumbrians’ top scorer Jon Mellish scored his 12th goal of the season in vain as Carlisle crashed out.

Manager Moore said: “When Ben’s in that position he’s got a calm head. They were two great goals and we’re delighted to be through.

“He gave us something to protect and hold on to.

“We knew it wouldn’t be straightforward but the lads got their just rewards in the end.

“We’re in the next round which is great for the club.

“It was another accomplished and professional performance from the lads.

“The chat at half-time was about going out and doing their jobs in the second half.

“It was a tough game and that game would have done a lot of our young players the world of good.”

However, Moore was quick to turn his attention to Wednesday night’s League One game against Yorkshire rivals Hull.

“Now we’ve got through that, it’s on to Wednesday. We’ve got another game and I’ve got that to prepare for now,” admitted Moore.

Carlisle boss Chris Beech was desperately disappointed for his players after the chance of a glamour third-round tie went begging.

“I’m so disappointed for my players,” reflected Beech. “They’ve given it everything and Doncaster know they’ve been in a fight.

“I don’t know the stats but we’ve spent a lot of time in the Doncaster half and had so many entries into their area.

“We had to come back in the first round from two goals down and when we got one back I thought it was going to be another one of those days.

“In the end it was just too much even though I have to give credit to the lads for the way they kept going.

“We wanted to be in the next round, because who knows what that could bring, but we’ve fallen just short.

“That certainly isn’t down to a lack of effort or commitment, and we come out of what was a tough game with heads held high.

“When a side of their quality have a two-goal lead, it’s always going to be tough because they have something to look after.

“I actually felt they got their goals against the run of play and we could even have had the advantage ourselves with some of the opportunities that came our way early on.”