Last Time Out...
Donny travelled to Crewe and thought it a good idea to give all their fans palpitations before deciding to deliver the result we all wanted.
It was cagey at first. Rovers probed tentatively at a dodgy Crewe defence, while Crewe, though pegged back for much of the first half, looked capable of breaking away to get something. Chris Brown headed James Husband's cross wide of the far post; Coppinger tried his luck from range while Crewe's No. 26, Chucks Aneke tried the same. But these were all half-chances at best. The first real opportunity was created by Aneke, sliding a ball through the defence to put Byron Moore in on goal. Sullivan saved well for Rovers. At the other end, James Husband did have the ball in the net as he latched onto Iain Hume's through-ball. The linesman ruled Husband had timed his run too soon. It was a close run thing.
Hume was proving to be Donny's most creative and threatening player and from point blank range, he tried to improvise a finish from Rob Jones' flick. Superb reflexes from Alan Martin denied Rovers and earned the 'keeper a sporting "low-5" from Hume.
Nine minutes into the second half and Crewe took the lead. Hume gave the ball away cheaply in midfield to the impressive Aneke. He duly slipped in Max Clayton who beat Sullivan low to his right. Time for Rovers' fans to get nervous.
They pressed and were denied again by the linesman's flag though this time less controversially with Chris Brown clearly offside as he turned in Dean Furman's scuffed shot. There followed a substitution and a controversial one. The introduction of Billy Paynter was expected but for Hume who had up to this point in the game proven to be Rovers' main threat? Many doubted the decision and Hume certainly wasn't impressed.
But Paynter's addition was to change the game. First he ran with the ball into space at the edge of the area and hit a shot into Martin's bottom-left corner. Four minutes later, and McCoombe flicked on John Lundstram's lofted ball into the area. There was Paynter to redirect the ball into the bottom corner and Donny had the lead with 20 minutes remaining.
It was still nervy for Donny. Crewe substitute Oliver Turton clipped the outside of Neil Sullivan's post, but the league leaders held on for a vital win.
Crewe Alexandra 1 : 2 Doncaster Rovers
But the Us had been decent up until this point and they deservedly equalized. Good football on the left moved the ball to Andrew Hughes who crossed for Jabo Ibehre to have the simplest of tap-ins.
Into the second period and Campbell-Ryce was still trying to score a screamer and with efforts as good as he is capable, why not? From 25 yards he had Walker scrambling to save at the near post. It took until the 77th minute for County to retake the lead. A corner found Yoann Arquin unmarked about 9 yards out and a header was put into the top corner. The Magpies finished the match in injury time. Enoch Showumni played a through-ball for substitute Romello Nangell to score his first professional goal.
County looked susceptible in defence at times but there's no denying their potency up front with Campbell-Ryce, Arquin and Showumni looking a handful at times.
Notts County 3 : 1 Colchester United
Donny made the short trip down to Nottingham and came away with all the points in an impressive victory.
The first half was pretty dismal, only enlightened when Iain Hume dispossessed Ashley Eastham in the midfield and raced though to shoot narrowly wide.
It was cagey at first. Rovers probed tentatively at a dodgy Crewe defence, while Crewe, though pegged back for much of the first half, looked capable of breaking away to get something. Chris Brown headed James Husband's cross wide of the far post; Coppinger tried his luck from range while Crewe's No. 26, Chucks Aneke tried the same. But these were all half-chances at best. The first real opportunity was created by Aneke, sliding a ball through the defence to put Byron Moore in on goal. Sullivan saved well for Rovers. At the other end, James Husband did have the ball in the net as he latched onto Iain Hume's through-ball. The linesman ruled Husband had timed his run too soon. It was a close run thing.
Hume was proving to be Donny's most creative and threatening player and from point blank range, he tried to improvise a finish from Rob Jones' flick. Superb reflexes from Alan Martin denied Rovers and earned the 'keeper a sporting "low-5" from Hume.
Nine minutes into the second half and Crewe took the lead. Hume gave the ball away cheaply in midfield to the impressive Aneke. He duly slipped in Max Clayton who beat Sullivan low to his right. Time for Rovers' fans to get nervous.
They pressed and were denied again by the linesman's flag though this time less controversially with Chris Brown clearly offside as he turned in Dean Furman's scuffed shot. There followed a substitution and a controversial one. The introduction of Billy Paynter was expected but for Hume who had up to this point in the game proven to be Rovers' main threat? Many doubted the decision and Hume certainly wasn't impressed.
But Paynter's addition was to change the game. First he ran with the ball into space at the edge of the area and hit a shot into Martin's bottom-left corner. Four minutes later, and McCoombe flicked on John Lundstram's lofted ball into the area. There was Paynter to redirect the ball into the bottom corner and Donny had the lead with 20 minutes remaining.
It was still nervy for Donny. Crewe substitute Oliver Turton clipped the outside of Neil Sullivan's post, but the league leaders held on for a vital win.
Crewe Alexandra 1 : 2 Doncaster Rovers
Meanwhile...
Wins for Brentford, Sheffield United and Bournemouth underlined how vital that result was for Donny.
In a less vital game, Notts County faced Colchester United at Meadow Lane.
Early on and Colchester were nearly gifted the lead when possession was given away by the home side in their own half. The resulting shot was pushed around the post by Bartosz Bialkowski. From the resulting corner, Jabo Ibehre should have done much better as he headed over while unmarked in the six-yard box.
At the other end and Jamal Campbell-Ryce attempted and nearly achieved the spectacular, beating his man before trying one from 30 yards that flew just wide of the far post. After 18 minutes a series of headers flicked the ball from midfield to the Magpie's right-wing in an attacking position. Curtis Thompson crossed and Jeff Hughes shot at full stretch had enough on it for Sam Walker only to be able to push it further into his own net.
But the Us had been decent up until this point and they deservedly equalized. Good football on the left moved the ball to Andrew Hughes who crossed for Jabo Ibehre to have the simplest of tap-ins.
Into the second period and Campbell-Ryce was still trying to score a screamer and with efforts as good as he is capable, why not? From 25 yards he had Walker scrambling to save at the near post. It took until the 77th minute for County to retake the lead. A corner found Yoann Arquin unmarked about 9 yards out and a header was put into the top corner. The Magpies finished the match in injury time. Enoch Showumni played a through-ball for substitute Romello Nangell to score his first professional goal.
County looked susceptible in defence at times but there's no denying their potency up front with Campbell-Ryce, Arquin and Showumni looking a handful at times.
Notts County 3 : 1 Colchester United
Earlier this season...
The first half was pretty dismal, only enlightened when Iain Hume dispossessed Ashley Eastham in the midfield and raced though to shoot narrowly wide.
In the second and after 58 minutes, Rovers' should have led. Cotterill floated a free-kick into Tommy Spurr who headed back across goal for Kyle Bennett to head a long way over the County bar from about 3 yards. But on 61 minutes, Bennett made amends. A good through-ball found David Syers who chipped in a cross for Paul Keegan to head into the bottom corner. Two minutes later and it was two-nil. A long ball from midfield found Hume who in turn found Chris Brown just inside the area. There was still plenty for Brown to do, but he did it. A little trickery gave him the space to shoot into the near bottom corner.
A good win for Donny away from home against a side one place above them in the league at the time.
Notts County 0 : 2 Doncaster Rovers
The Season so far...
It all started so well for County but in the end, they have failed to deliver on their early promise. In their first 9 games, the Magpies were only beaten the once and notched five wins. But all season, they've never managed more than two victories in a row. Compare with Rovers, who have managed four victories in a row once and three a further twice, and you see the difference between mid-table and table leaders.
In the end County have too many draws on their slate. Sixteen in all. Only one side has more, Sheffield United (how crucial could that prove this season?). Lately, County have had arguably their worst run of the season, losing three times in a row before that win last week. I noticed that these three defeats came against leading sides (Bournemouth, Yeovil and Brentford) so do they have an issue aginst the better side in the league. It would seem so! Against the top-half sides County have accumulated only 14 of their 61points. In this respect they are 20th best in the league, a far cry from their overall 12th position.
Season High: 1st (September)
Season Low: 14th (January)
...and so to the Game
Well, as is always the case in football, thousands of permutations of results end up coming down to quite simple scenarios as the number of games remaining reduces.If Donny win tomorrow and neither Bournemouth nor Brentford can match that result, crack open the Champagne for we are champions!
If Donny win and either Bournemouth or Brentford do not win its worth at least a few pints as Donny are promoted with a shot the title during the last match of the season.
Honestly? I can't see Brentford doing anything other than beating already relegated Hartlepool. Bournemouth should also beat Carlisle at home. Wait a minute...we should have beaten Carlisle at home. Can lightening strike twice?
But let's not get too carried away. First of all, we have to beat Notts County. As I've hinted, I wasn't at all impressed with their defence but going forward, they are certainly good enough.
That said, the Magpies haven't won since January on their travels but they have a nasty (for everyone) habit of getting away-draws. Eleven so far this season, which is two more than anyone else.
As far as injuries are concerned, County are bolstered by the return to the squad of Alan Judge after suspension. How important is he? Look right!
Neal Bishop is also likely to be in the squad but after having seen his youngsters perform well against Colchester, Chris Kiwomya has a decision to make as to whether to keep faith with Curtis Thompson, Tyrell Waite, Haydn Hollis and Romello Nangle.
For Donny, Gary Woods could return after missing out against Crewe and Rovers' right-back woes continue so expect James Husband to continue to deputize in that position. Dave Syers is an outside chance for a comeback but I don't see why. Furman and Lundstram are proving a very able central midfield partnership.
Not a straightforward task for the Rovers tomorrow, but their situation could not provide any more motivation to the team. As long as nerves do not kick-in, I think they will do the job.
The referee is Philip Gibbs. Gibbs has taken charge more often in the Championship of late, which is good news on such a vital fixture. He has taken charge of matches involving both Donny and County this season. The Donny game was against Stevenage at the Keepmoat back in September. Five yellows were shown during that match while the County game, at Coventry in October resulted in just two yellows. On average Mr Gibbs shows a modest 2.5 Yellow cards per game and has dismissed just three players in 37 matches this season.
Forum Corner
The Ghost has caught my eye for the second week running with his version of the Masterchef invention test (yeah - I like Masterchef). Combine the promotion squad of 2007/08 with today's candidates to make the best squad. Inventive!
But after acknowledging inventiveness, now I must fall out with the Ghost's choices. No place for James Hayter (not even on the bench). Tommy Spurr gets the nod against the sweet left foot of Gareth Roberts? Neither Graham Lee nor Gordon Greer worth a place on the bench? Some funny choices there!
There's also a debate on pitch invasions, which given the position Rovers are in, could be relevant. John Ryan wants fans to stay off the grass while looking at the thread, the majority of fans do not agree.
I was threatened with a premature death by my dad were I to set foot on the Belle Vue turf as a lad and I've therefore grown up with the firm belief that the pitch is for players and match officials. Not fans. Clapping politely when if we win promotion? Not at all! Go nuts! Go nuts in the stands but keep off the grass. Failure to do so could result in some FL official deciding the club failed to control their fans and levying a fine. Harsh? Of course, but why take the risk?
Anyway, regardless - lets enjoy the day and hopefully, it will be a great day in Donny history!
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