Another loan player, Jonathan Grounds headed a second-half equaliser to snatch a 1-1 draw for Norwich.

The youngster, on loan from Middlesbrough, met Wes Hoolahan's dinked cross to cancel out Paul Heffernan's opener and extend Bryan Gunn's unbeaten start as Canaries boss.

Heffernan had marked his return to the Doncaster attack with a headed goal midway through the first half, but it was not enough to prevent their four-game winning run in the League from coming to an end.

Doncaster were unlucky not to take all three points, though, as the movement of Heffernan and James Spicer up front, ably supported by James Coppinger out wide, caused the Norwich defence all sorts of problems.

Sean O'Driscoll's men's recent revival has lifted them out of the bottom three, but both teams hovered just a point above the drop zone going in to the game.

And both started like this was a match they could not afford to lose, with plenty of commitment but little in the way of attacking threat.

Lee Croft down the Norwich right looked the most likely source of inspiration and so it proved as he carved out the game's first chance in the 10th minute, cutting inside the full-back and into the area before firing a low shot narrowly wide of the far post.

Doncaster, though, slowly began to gain a foothold in midfield and twice went close before taking a 23rd-minute lead.

First Coppinger's dangerous cross from the left was anxiously scrambled clear by the Canaries defence and then Heffernan had an effort blocked from in front of the goal line.

And the pressure told just moments later when Heffernan followed up to nod home from close range after Norwich keeper David Marshall had made a brave initial save.

Mark Fotheringham and Richie Wellens were then fortunate to escape with no more than a talking to from the referee after they squared up to each other following a hefty challenge from the Norwich skipper.

The visitors suffered another blow in first-half stoppage-time when Darel Russell went off injured, replaced by Carl Cort.

Norwich almost drew level straight after the break, Hoolahan taking a long ball on the chest and crossing for Jamie Cureton, whose first touch took him away from his marker but Neil Sullivan came out to make a smart save.

And Norwich equalised in the 61st minute when Grounds headed Hoolahan's clipped ball in from the right past Sullivan.

Hoolahan was surprisingly substituted three minutes later, Matty Pattison coming on in his place, and the midfielder was clearly not impressed with the decision, pushing Gunn's arm away when the manager went to pat him on the back as he walked to the dug-out.

Doncaster then had a penalty appeal waved away, while at the other end Jon Otsemobor blazed a glorious chance high over the bar after Pattison's neat pass had played him in.

Marshall then had to be at his athletic best to tip Coppinger's fierce drive over the bar as the game began to really open up.

In the 73rd minute Matt Mills sidefooted over after getting free round the back from a free-kick, while Heffernan stabbed the ball wide from the increasingly-influential Coppinger's pull back.

But for all Doncaster's late pressure they could not find a winner as their run of victories came to an end.