Sky Bet League One
Saturday 7th December 2019
A point is better than nothing at all, though this result by no means overshadows another desperately disappointing performance by Doncaster Rovers.
Despite a positive start and positive finale, the display lasting about 70 minutes in between the two was lethargic, third-gear and generally poor. As much as MK Dons were decent; far better than their current league position suggests, Rovers were bad and it simply wasn't good enough by a long stretch.
Cameron John equalised late on - converting from Reece James' near-post corner to salvage a point, despite visiting players protesting about a foul on the 'keeper. Incredibly, Rovers could have then even won the game in stoppage-time had Max Watters been able to put a late snap-shot the right side of the target.
Watters, who replaced Alfie May in the first substitution, featured for around half-hour and actually had a steady enough Football League debut.
It was challenging for him coming on in testing circumstances with the team losing and the crowd becoming slightly negative and frustrated by what they'd seen.
Nevertheless, as well as the aforementioned late attempt (which fell to him just inside the box after a fortuitous ricochet), he put one ball into a dangerous position, carried it out of defence and played it out wide under pressure, another time, and Rovers equalised during his spell on the pitch. He was beaten a little too easily during an aerial duel with MK Dons' right-back in the last few minutes, but he'll no doubt improve that part of his game as he matures, gets older, becomes tougher and gets accustomed to regularly playing against physically stronger opponents.
The occasional 'nod and wink' to the dugout when he received instructions/messages, proved he was confident enough in his ability and didn't fear being out of his comfort zone. He's been given this opportunity and done well. It's a shame he wasn't quite able to get some headline-grabbing attention through a late goal, but progression is there for everyone to see.
Aside from Watters, another player who I enjoyed watching closely in this game was visiting centre-back Regan Poole.
The ex-Newport loanee (and scorer in the penalty shoot-out win over Mansfield in the play-offs last season - so even more likeable) boasted very good awareness, positional sense, and was decent. He nullified Rakish Bingham's threat to the point where it became non-existent. Some folk who were in attendance might say Bingham purely had a poor game, but I saw it on the flip side and have nothing but praise for Poole!
One vulnerability which MK did seem to have was defending set-pieces and it was obvious from early in the second period. Therefore, it was surprising that after the visitors had taken the lead, target man Kwame Thomas didn’t come on much sooner. He might have had more success against a well-organised defence in open play, albeit sloppy at set-pieces!
When John headed in his late equaliser, MK protested about a foul on the ‘keeper by Donervon Daniels and having seen the replay, I think they’ve got a very fair point. However, no foul was given, that’s life - sometimes it’s harsh, and Rovers got fortunate!
A separate incident of note, which wasn’t acceptable in my view, occurred when Ben Sheaf was substituted.
As he walked round the pitch towards the dugout, he received applause from those in the South Stand and West Stand, with the exception of one ‘cockroach’ who chose to shout something along the lines of ‘You’re f**king s**t’ (or some gibberish nonsense like that) at him as he got within ear-shot. I can understand fans becoming frustrated - and if ever there was a performance to get frustrated about, it was this one. However, verbal abuse isn’t on and it’s totally stupid against one of your own players. No footballer, purposely, has a bad game - it just happens! If they do, they don’t need it ramming down their throat by a loud-mouthed, uneducated delinquent/gob sh*te who claim to ‘support’ the team - especially when emotions are raw.
The fan in question might say ‘I’ve paid my money, I’ll say what I want’ - which is the most predictable yet lame excuses going. The geezer should have just said nothing, if he’s got nothing at all which is constructive to say.
Thankfully, the late drama prevented what I expect would have been a chorus of boos at the final whistle. It doesn’t escape from the fact that performances need to improve over the next few weeks and a win is needed to break any tension that might build ahead of a rot setting in.
Finally, in other DRFC-related news, a big well done must go to Cody Prior and Rieves Boocock who both scored in Sheffield FC’s draw at Kidsgrove Athletic this afternoon. Well done, lads!
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