Doncaster Rovers 3-2 Fleetwood Town

Doncaster Rovers 3-2 Fleetwood Town
Sky Bet League One
Saturday 17th August 2019

As open and entertaining football matches go, this one is up there with any that I've seen in recent years as momentum shifted back and forth until some last-gasp drama gave Doncaster Rovers three points and condemned a decent Fleetwood Town side to defeat.

Excitement was aplenty throughout and with a referee who gave the impression he wasn't quite a full shilling with his decision-making at times, you never knew quite what to expect next.

Defences definitely weren't on top and there were several nerve-jangling moments where players from both sides gave the ball away, or in some cases very nearly relinquished possession, in stupidly dangerous areas.

There was also Ben Whiteman's comedy shot from just inside the visitors' half which subsequently went out for a throw-in - definitely worthy of either a forfeit or fine towards the much-anticipated Christmas Party in any good dressing room!

In the end though it was a combination of 'small margins' and not taking chances during spells on top which contributed most to the Cod Army's downfall.

Had they doubled their lead after such a positive start, it would have left Darren Moore's Rovers team with a huge mountain to climb and one which, quite probably, they wouldn't have been able to.

Instead, the visitors turned an early one-goal advantage into a one-goal deficit by half-time.

Then, after forcing a deserved equaliser, Joey Barton's troops almost re-established a lead in the closing stages when a header ricocheted off the post and would have crossed the line had Ian Lawlor not somehow intervened.

Again, this came during a spell in which Fleetwood were well on top - but one during which, again, they didn't take complete advantage.

So it was sods law for them that in injury-time, Wes Burns sliced an attempted clearance from a set-play straight into his own net and ensured that it would be a miserable trip back to the Fylde Coast for the team and their 197 travelling fans.

From a Rovers perspective, had it gone 3-2 the other way late on, there would have no doubt been a negative reaction with pessimists producing their poison. The inquest would have been intense and the most vocal critics would have wanted new signings, changes and probably more.

Instead, the optimists are out, there's positivity and a winless start (had Fleetwood scored) is now an unbeaten start in the league.

Three points are always worth celebrating at any level, but in reality, as entertaining as the game was to someone such as myself who doesn't care too much about the result, it was a good three points against a decent side - yet with both positives and negatives to the performance.

Defensively, as touched on, things have to improve!

Fleetwood dominated aerially, got their two goals from headers and won plenty of other stuff in the air. On another day, they'd have bagged more goals. Brad Halliday, whilst alright when attacking, seems to lack positional awareness at times which has been noticeable at different points in every home game (including pre-season) so far this term.

Together, these are things which cannot be repeated again at any time during the season, irrespective of today's result.

The unfortunate injury to Alex Baptiste during the past fortnight also means that a new, experienced body is probably now required again with the ex-Blackpool player expected to be out for a significant period of time.

But, on the flip side, there are rich positives to take.

James Coppinger rolled back the years with a deserved 'Man iof the Match' display - pinging passes around to a very high standard, testing the 'keeper with a long snap-shot and curling in a sumptuous attempt proves, even at his ripe old age, he's still as effective as anyone at this level.

Then, as my old friend, Len South, put it after the final whistle: 'There's a hell of a lot of raw talent on that pitch'. He's right.

Cameron John, one of the two lads on loan from Wolves, was impressive and his powerful, instinctive equaliser in the first half - hammering the ball emphatically into the net, via the underside of the woodwork, highlighted his potential.

The other loan lads, too, are young, raw, learning and it'll take time for them to adapt to League One level, their new surroundings and everything else. It won't be instant, it may well be frustrating at times, but if it gels then only positivity can stem from that.

After the opening day draw with Gillingham, I said that 2-3 more players were needed for the long haul, ideally down the spine of the team.

On the whole - accepting the arrivals of Jon Taylor and Kazaiah Sterling, that's still the case though an extra centre-back to replace Baptiste is a necessity now (possibly more so than the much-discussed John Marquis replacement) and proof of that is Fleetwood's aerial superiority today.

Even though it's early in the season, this Doncaster Rovers side - in spite of the significant upheaval during the summer months, looks more than capable of holding its own this term.