JAMES Trafford passed the test in a rare busy day for Wanderers at Doncaster, says Ian Evatt.

The Manchester City keeper has been a hit since coming to the UniBol on loan in January but has had surprisingly few shots to deal with, averaging just 4.08 per 90 minutes before Saturday’s game.

That put Trafford 17th out of 30 keepers who had started 10 games or more, marginally busy than the man he replaced in the Bolton side, Joel Dixon (3.82 per 90 mins).

Jonathan Mitchell – who kept goal for Doncaster – tops League One’s busiest keepers with an average of 6.25 shots per game on his goal.

On Saturday, Rovers put 19 shots on goal – six on target, seven off target and six blocked – in what proved a tough 90 minutes at the Eco Power Stadium.

But Trafford’s key saves from Kyle Knoyle and Aidan Barlow proved decisive in what was a fiercely fought contest.

“That’s what he’s there for,” said Evatt, playing a straight bat. “To be honest he has had a lot of plaudits and he has done really well for us but he hasn’t had a great deal to do.

“I think today I was really pleased with, not only his saves, but the way he was coming for crosses. He looked a man out there, he came and dominated the box and was physical and aggressive and that’s what we want him to do.

“He is a young player with lots to learn but that was a real positive for me today.”

Wanderers started well at Doncaster but had dropped off by half time with the hosts creating a couple of good opportunities in the later stages of the first half.

Evatt said his message at the break was to bring Jon Dadi Bodvarsson and Amadou Bakayoko more into play - and the pair combined just a couple of minutes after the restart for the first goal of the game.

“I always have a few words at half-time, I’m never happy but I just felt that we could play forwards with quality more often,” he said. “When they’re a back four and their full-backs are having to jump so far to engage our wing-backs, the space was then with the two front lads playing two v two and we had to give them more service and better service and we did that second half, especially at the start.

“It was all triggered from Jon pressing from the kick-off, he went and closed down the centre half, we ended up getting the ball in the final third and almost scored and then all of sudden we had the impetus and the territory and we went on and got the goal but the way we managed the second half at times was a bit naive.

“There are lots of things to improve on but credit to them. I thought Gary and Steve Eyre both prepared their team very well and I thought it was a really good game of football.”

Evatt admitted some of his players did fade towards the end – with George Thomson making his first start since January 11 and Bakayoko currently fasting for Ramadan, which has affected his ability to play 90 minutes.

“George became a bit tired, of course,” the manager added. “He fatigued a little bit and Baka with Ramadan, we’re having to manage his energy levels, but I thought them two were outstanding with what they provided the team.

“We think that George is a really good young player and he’s going to have a bright future. He’s had to be patient because we’ve got some really good players in that area. He’s showed today what he’s capable of.”