Doncaster Rovers 3-3 Bury

Doncaster 3-3 Bury
Keepmoat Stadium
Tuesday 17th April 2018
League Two

After a trip to watch Italian giants Juventus the previous weekend, followed by a stadium tour of the San Siro the following day, the midweek Sky Bet League One clash between Doncaster Rovers and Bury was a case of returning to earth with an almighty bang!

Bury have been hopeless for pretty much the entire campaign, despite assembling a large (and probably very expensive) squad last summer and had their relegation confirmed last weekend when they were thumped by fellow 'shocking beyond belief' strugglers Northampton Town.

Donny, meanwhile, have showed positive signs in recent months after a stop-start first half of the campaign completely blighted their progress. Despite not being either mathematically safe or out of the play-off picture, they are the definition of mid-table mediocrity.

With little at stake, and the pressure subsequently off, quite often these games can prove to be some of the most entertaining and on a mild South Yorkshire night this proved to be just the case.

Donny's pitch is looking better than it has at this stage in recent years

Rovers penned Bury back from the outset and raced into a lead as early as the second minute. Veteran James Coppinger's cross was inch-perfect for Andy Butler, who towered up in the air and planted a header firmly beyond the reach of Shakers 'keeper Joe Murphy; this being less than 60 seconds after the visitors had been forced to clear their lines from a first-minute corner.

Bury's night looked as if it was going to go from bad to worse, and having been lucky to survive when John Marquis stabbed the ball against a post in the fifth minute, they were completely outplayed up to just past the half-hour mark when Marquis did eventually find the back of the net.

At this point, the visiting fans must have been wondering why they'd even bothered turning up when their team clearly hadn't bothered.

Bury improved after the half-time interval

Nevertheless, a lucky break is often required when it seems like the whole world is against you, and that's what Bury got just before half-time when Donny's Niall Mason produced a superb 'Diego Milito' style header past his own 'keeper, whilst attempting to defend a set-piece.

After the re-start, things began to get interesting as Bury upped the ante and found themselves back on level terms when Jay O'Shea sent the ball past Marko Marosi from the penalty spot, after Matty Blair had committed a foul inside the area.

This seemed to raise the Shakers' confidence levels - probably not surprising as they've been crap since the opening day so coming from two goals down to get back on level terms is a minor miracle in itself.

Looking towards the 100-or-so visiting supporters

Incredibly, they completed the turnaround just shy of the hour mark when Zemi Ismail skipped away down the right flank and played the ball across goal towards an unmarked George Miller, who finished from close-range despite looking in a very, very, very questionable position at least a yard beyond the last defender.

It's a good job that little was riding on the result of the game otherwise Rovers boss Darren Ferguson might have been asking The FA to dish out capital punishment to a match official for the second time this season after his infamous rant against the referee in the January draw with Plymouth Argyle.

Bury's problem, however, is the fact they are basically totally useless and it wasn't long before it was 3-3 as Coppinger's teasing corner met the head of Andy Boyle, who powered a header between the goalkeeper and defender on the post.

In the closing stages, both teams played with a certain swagger that isn't usually seen during a normal game within a campaign and opted to try and attack in search of a late winner. Rovers had the better chances but too often their shots were straight at Murphy, whilst Bury looked dangerous on the counter-attack.

A point apiece certainly wasn't the expected outcome, especially when the opening half-hour is taken into consideration, and despite their comeback a lot of work is needed in the summer to stop Bury from potentially going the same way as Tranmere Rovers, Leyton Orient or Chesterfield in the next couple of years.

Finally, despite certain questions over his longevity in matches nowadays, it's worth noting that James Coppinger grabbed two assists and looked in fine form in this game. On this performance, surely he's worth of a one-year contract extension?