Sky Bet League One
Sunday 29th December 2019
It's pointless trying to overly articulate just how much of a desperately turd performance this was from Doncaster Rovers.
Simply put, it was unacceptable and not good enough - one million miles away from being anything remotely near to being good enough or the standard required to get a decent result. As a collective performance, it was lethargic, flat and grossly underwhelming.
It was the worst display of the season, bar none; absolutely no doubt about it!
Usually I try and seek the positives and not act in a 'knee-jerk' fashion, but there was barely anything positive to emerge and nobody can have any complaints whatsoever.
Although Sunderland have been besieged by their own problems in recent weeks; mid-table and woefully out of form, they dominated. It was, coincidentally, probably their best display in a few weeks (if not the season to date) and it'll give Phil Parkinson a few days respite considering the growing pressure that he's been under in recent weeks.
A different 'story' to the game would probably have seen the visiting fans get on his back and voice their discontent. A different result may have even seen the Sunderland boss sacked, but instead, the Black Cats had it all too easy.
From the outset, the visitors pressed high, set the tempo and controlled the play. They were authoritative and in command whereas Rovers weren't, didn't close down enough, stood off way too much, didn't get in their faces and didn't show enough desire.
Lynden Gooch's sixth-minute opener was too easy. It was a good, curling finish from the edge of the box but he was afforded too much time, too much space and was able to pick his spot. Lackadaisical defending from a Donny viewpoint - but more concerning was the fact they'd failed to take heed of the warning signs prior to this opening.
Yes, Rovers' performance did fractionally improve after this ridiculously sloppy start, but barring one or two attacks during a spell of pressure not long prior to Jon Taylor's equaliser, Darren Moore's team just simply didn't seem to be able to get any serious foothold or get going.
The game had a frantic pace to it; Sunderland controlled it better, hustled and harried much better, and if you actually split the game into quarter-of-an-hour sections, the Black Cats were on top in all but one - such was the difference between the sides.
Too many Donny players just didn't turn up. Too many long balls from the back were aimless, fruitless and 'gobbled up' by the grateful visitors who were able to regain possession as a result and then go about creating danger. Things just didn't function in the midfield and those up top were feeding off scraps.
The performance certainly posed more questions than answers.
Far too much was lost in midfield. Ben Whiteman's presence was entirely nullified courtesy of a game-plan which the Black Cats implemented to perfection and Madger Gomes, alongside him, just seemed to lack the capability, positional nous or technical ability to be influential. In truth, Gomes was a hindrance more than a help and in hindsight, maybe if he'd been booked for either of his two rash challenges in the first half, it might have planted a seed in Darren Moore's mind to substitute him before the referee red carded him.
It was desperately frustrating to watch, barring the spell of pressure in which Taylor equalised from James Coppinger's brilliant piercing ball towards the back-post, and once Sunderland got ahead for a second time near to the hour mark, it was hard to see how things would change as there wasn't a vast array of options on the bench for Doncaster to turn to.
Kwame Thomas was the obvious choice, given his aerial threat, but the lack of other potential options/strength in depth poses more questions than answers and firmly underlines the undeniable fact that new faces are needed in the upcoming transfer window.
Had it not been for some excellent acrobatic saves by Seny Dieng (one of the few players who deserve any credit for their own individual display), the result would have been much more emphatic - and undeniably a fairer reflection on how the game panned out.
Rovers ought to be thankful they weren't booed from the pitch at the final whistle. For anyone who wasn't there, it really was that bad a performance!
If one thing is for certain now, it's that a massive, massive response is needed when Oxford United rock up to the Keepmoat Stadium on New Year's Day.
The U's, in my opinion, are the best attacking team in League One and if there isn't a stark improvement, it's going to be a long afternoon! Hopefully, scalded pride, dented egos, tough opponents and the next game coming so soon will be a big driving force for Rovers to deliver a big response!
Talk about relegation or at least a scrap for survival, which I’ve seen in some quarters, is ridiculously premature and a typically predictable response from some folk who are always negative. Lets, not forget that a few days ago, the same players won convincingly at Peterborough.
However, by the same token, this sh*t show of a performance can’t be repeated.
Who knows what will happen!
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