Albion’s team coach blew a gasket just as their pre-season push ran out of gas.

The Baggies should have feared the worst when their luxury vehicle refused to move from the car park of their Great Barr training ground yesterday afternoon.

Sure enough, the breakdown was a sign of last night’s events as the team ground to a halt and lost their 100 per cent winning record in friendlies.

Not that boss Roberto Di Matteo will worry unduly about a low-key defeat on the back of three successive warm-up victories.

The Hawthorns head coach will be much more interested in the widespread transfer-market gridlock that has left his club wedged in a traffic jam, waiting for the men at the head of the queue to make a move.

But the Italian will have been a shade disappointed to see his side’s erstwhile impressive pre-season form dented by a bright and breezy Doncaster side, for whom Dean Shiels struck a fine second-half winner.

With his players having trained hard yesterday morning before beginning their eventful journey, Di Matteo will have known there was little left in the tank for the meeting with their Championship hosts.

The training schedule looked to have taken its toll by the time they arrived at the Keepmoat Stadium.

That was all the encouragement Rovers needed and Sean O’Driscoll’s admirable, pleasing-on-the-eye outfit were good value for the win, even if the Baggies departed feeling they could have claimed victory had they taken their chances.

For Di Matteo there were reasons to be cheerful.

Summer signing Pablo continued his excellent pre-season campaign with another hugely encouraging 45 minutes, Steven Reid played his first match in midfield for the Baggies and grew impressively into the role, while Giles Barnes completed a valuable 90 minutes.

In contrast, James Morrison could not find a final ball or shot to match some industrious all-round play, Gabriel Tamas suffered an off-night after a previously faultless pre-season and the full-backs, Gianni Zuiverloon and Joe Mattock, had evenings to forget.

But, as they focus on the opening of the Premier League season on August 14, no-one in the Albion camp will lose too much sleep over their failure to repeat May’s promotion-clinching win in Yorkshire.

Albion withstood a scare in the opening seconds when James Coppinger found some space behind Mattock and crossed to the far post, where Shiels escaped the attentions of Zuiverloon but headed over.

But, after a spell of early Rovers pressure, the Baggies went close themselves when a corner from captain-for-the-night Chris Brunt was bundled towards goal by Pablo but scrambled off the line by Brian Stock.

The low-key first half brought another chance for the home side on 33 minutes, when Billy Sharp turned away from Tamas on the edge of the box and hit a shot that flew just wide. Albion began the second-half more brightly and they should have been ahead within six minutes of the restart.

Ishmael Miller produced a clever pass to release Morrison wide on the right who crossed to the far post, where the unmarked Brunt headed wide when he really should have found the target.

The winning goal for the hosts came on the hour-mark when Doncaster got their rewards for a neat move.

Billy Sharp did well to retain possession on the edge of the box and feed Shiels, who turned away from Zuiverloon and curled an excellent shot past goalkeeper Dean Kiely and inside the far post.

Barnes later went close but his effort was scarambled off the line.

By Steve Madeley