It is well known that Preston have a threadbare squad after being depleted with injuries but barring the match against Villa there have been some pretty poor performances from whoever has started.
Neil was unable to change his pack much but did give Rudd a rest allowing Crowe to make his debut in goal. He now joins the list of poor goalkeeping performances this season.
The only highlight was to see Maguire, Browne and Barker back on the bench. This was also Pearson's last game of his suspension and the three new signings will all be available for the league game at home to Swansea.
There are likely to be significant changes for the next game but the performance was dismal and merited nothing against a Doncaster side moving up the League One table.
Preston seem to have an issue at the back with set pieces, crosses and headers. Marquis freely headed home ealry in the game to give Doncaster the lead.
Despite hitting the post just before the break Preston rarely threatened although Hughes did equalise with a close range header just after the break.
The lead didn't last long. Anderson scored from close range after Crowe made a mess of keeping out an initial attempt. Before the end Wilks made it three when Crowe made it easy for the attacker to go round him.
It will be no surprise if Crowe is not seen again near the starting line up. The results and performances over the past few weeks have been disappointing. Injuries and number of games have clearly impacted upon the squad but this was a really poor outing.
North End must now hope that with new signings and players returning that they can return to competitive ways and pull themselves away from the relegation zone.