Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Blackburn Rovers

Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Blackburn Rovers
Keepmoat Stadium
Tuesday 24th April 2018
League One

Despite being a relatively common suffix, 'Rovers v Rovers' matches have been extremely few and far between in English football in recent years.

Tranmere played Forest Green in last season's National League Play-Off Final with the winner earning the right to be the only 'Rovers' in League Two this season. In League One, Bristol, Doncaster and Blackburn have all come together this term after varied joy and despair for each club in recent times, though you have to go back to 2013/14 for the last time two of these teams met - this being a Championship clash between Blackburn and Donny at Ewood Park.

The most common 'Rovers v Rovers' battle since the turn of the century has been between Doncaster and Tranmere; the two clubs met eight times in four years in the mid-2000s, with goalless draws or a win for the South Yorkshire side at Prenton Park being the most common result.

Therefore, the clash between Doncaster and Blackburn at the Keepmoat Stadium offered a little novelty and, with the visitors knowing three points would seal an instant return to the Championship, there was plenty riding on the result.

A wet night at the Keepmoat on a waterlogged pitch

A heavy pitch certainly didn't help the game and had it not been soaking wet through to the point of being waterlogged, Blackburn would probably have put Darren Ferguson's team to the sword and wrapped up the win they craved much earlier in the game than what they actually did. Instead, it was a bit scrappy and didn't make for great entertainment.

Yes, there were certainly more tackles flying in as a result of the heavy pitch and players were having to over-compensate on passes to ensure they didn't get stuck in the mud, but the weather killed what could have been a superb game of decent football.

The visitors immediately signalled their intentions as Adam Armstrong had a shot blocked by Andy Butler inside the opening minute, and Donny continued to be pressed back and forced to perform defensive duties for much of the first period.

Tony Mowbray's men dominated in the driving rain and Danny Graham twice went close - including an attack in which he had the ball bravely plucked from his feet by Marko Marosi, whilst Charlie Mulgrew also had a free-kick palmed away by Slovakian shot-stopper.

Looking towards the Family Stand section

Donny began to settle after their nervy opening and almost grabbed the opener against the run of play around the half-hour mark when James Coppinger picked the pocket of his marker on the right-wing and looped in a cross towards Alfie Beestin who saw his glancing header saved.

Blackburn's Bradley Dack then endured a 'miss of the season' moment not long prior to the interval when he found himself unmarked in a superb position, a few yards out, but his glancing header from Armstrong's shot somehow went wide when everyone behind the goal in the South Stand was just waiting for the net to ripple.

Referee Eddie 'the idiot' Ilderton has developed a certain reputation over the years and he's an official who I would recognise by sight alone. When that happens, it can only mean they're pretty damn useless and aren't remembered for anything positive.

If it's ever boring then why not play Candy Crush for most of the game?

He's not quite up there in Trevor Kettle's league for ridiculousness (then again, could anyone be as incompetent as that prat?), but Mr Ilderton made his mark on this game by blowing the half-time whistle with 44 minutes and 46 seconds on the stadium clock, during a period of play where Blackburn were on the attack.

Needless to say, his whistle-blowing antics didn't go down well with Blackburn's players so one can only assume that 'the idiot' was in need of some warmth at half-time and just didn't fancy getting wet for any longer. Either that, he was 'attention seeking' yet again.

In the second half, the Yorkshire version of Rovers seemed to finally get to grips with proceedings and started knocking the ball around and asking a few more questions of the opposition with Ben Whiteman and Matty Blair going close.

Fans in the South Stand enjoy the action

Blackburn then upped the ante, no doubt aware that promotion rivals Shrewsbury had also pulled their fingers out having initially trailed in their game at home to Peterborough, and started to enjoy a sustained spell of pressure.

Butler was fortunate not to inadvertently put through his own net when the ball bounced off his knee and went wide, via the post, before Mathieu Baudry was forced into some last-ditch defending as the resulting corner also wreaked havoc.

Eventually, Mowbray's men got what their performance deserved when Mulgrew expertly guided home a header following a corner with around 10 minutes left, and it sent the 4,000-strong travelling support directly behind the goal into raptures.

Donny's consistently tireless work-horse John Marquis nearly became the ultimate party-pooper on the brink of five minutes of injury-time (maybe Mr Ilderton was making up for lost time in the first half here?) when his powerful header was straight at Blackburn 'keeper David Raya, but it wasn't to be for the hosts.

It was no surprise that Blackburn fans entered the pitch

Off the pitch, I know Donny's MC Jonathan Heath may well like the sound of his own voice. On the whole I don't mind his microphone style whatsoever (and some MC's out there could learn a thing or two from him), but asking the Blackburn fans to stay off the pitch five times in the lead up to the final whistle was excessive to say the least.

More hilarious was the reasoning given that the request was for 'Elf & Safety reasons' only for Rovers to then go and turn on the sprinkler system, full blast, at that end of the ground when the inevitable pitch invasion occurred.

I know Mr Heath will have been under instructions from Safety Officers and other folk, but you can't give out claptrap reasons to not do something then whack on the sprinkler system, which if it hit someone and knocked them off their feet, it could lead to that person being trampled by the surging crowd behind them.

Anyone with an ounce of common sense will also surely realise the more you emphasise for people to not do something, the more likely it's going to make them disobey that order and do their own thing.

This is something Donny could do with learning pretty quickly, as Wigan Athletic rock into town on the final day of the season - in a position where they could win the league that day and their fans may want to take their own selfies on the Keepmoat pitch during any invasion...