Leon Barnett rescues Wigan with last-minute equaliser against Doncaster

Leon Barnett's 90th-minute equaliser salvaged a point for Wigan and spared Owen Coyle's blushes in his first home match in charge.

The FA Cup holders squandered multiple chances in the opening exchanges; Grant Holt and Chris McCann forcing decent stops out of Ross Turnbull before Shaun Maloney struck a post.

Holt was bemused he failed to win a 15th-minute penalty after being hauled down by Reece Wabara and Rovers made the most of their fortune.

Theo Robinson fired in his second goal since joining five days ago and then Chris Brown headed home just before the interval. Bongani Khumalo would have made it three but for the woodwork, and their lead was soon halved thanks to Maloney's clever free-kick.

It seemed as though the visitors would hang on before Marc-Antoine Fortuné's cross was stabbed in by Barnett, although the three points would have been going back to south Yorkshire had the crossbar not denied the substitute Billy Paynter moments later.

With Doncaster believed to be on the verge of new investment, their chairman John Ryan was sat in the directors' box. He was perhaps casting an envious glance at his counterpart Dave Whelan's summer signings, particularly Holt, who nodded over early on from six yards.

The home side were causing problems and a wonderful move involving Emmerson Boyce and Maloney culminated in Holt firing against Turnbull's leg.

Wigan were incensed when Holt was somehow denied a penalty after Wabara got the wrong side of the former Norwich forward and dragged him down.

Doncaster had few answers to Holt and when he sent McCann clear Turnbull produced a fine one-handed save before Maloney's cross-cum-shot struck the woodwork.

It was one of the visitors' strikers who struck first after 25 minutes. A long free-kick landed at Robinson's feet and with his back to Barnett and the goal, he squeezed the ball between Scott Carson and a post.

Turnbull was called on again, this time to repel Boyce, yet Paul Dickov's men would double their advantage two minutes before the interval. Khumalo's deep cross was nodded across goal by his central-defensive partner Rob Jones where Brown, wearing a bandage after an earlier clash of heads, was on hand to plant his effort past Carson.

Coyle responded by introducing Fortuné at half-time, although it was Rovers who would almost strike again as Khumalo's terrific header crashed against a post.

Fortuné proved to have an impact 12 minutes after arriving, though, winning a free-kick when Jones tripped him on the edge of the area. Both Maloney and James McClean presided over it and it was the former whose effort dipped over the wall and dropped into the bottom corner.

Jean Beausejour was then introduced to provide service yet Holt, Fortuné and Boyce could not find the target with headers from his centres. Holt's growing frustration became evident when he pushed Dickov as he tried to quickly restart. But that frustration, shared by the DW Stadium crowd, soon turned to elation as Fortuné pulled the ball across for Barnett to expertly rifle home.

Paynter came on for Rovers before play restarted and he almost made the ultimate impact, guiding his header on to the top of the crossbar with Carson beaten.