FA Cup First Round Replay
Tuesday 19th November 2019
Despite being in the twilight years of his career, James Coppinger proved yet again how invaluable he is to Doncaster Rovers by scoring one and bagging an assist in this FA Cup win over AFC Wimbledon.
The veteran turned on the style as he showed lovely composure and technique to burst through, fool the defender, and slot home for the opener just after half-time, before he turned provider as Rakish Bingham bagged a second goal.
It was a comfortable success for Darren Moore's side and only a couple of fantastic blocks on the line in the closing stages denied them a wider margin of victory.
That said, it may have been an altogether different story had Wimbledon capitalised on a sluggish, rusty and lethargic first 45 minutes by the hosts. They carved out some good openings; none more so than when an unmarked Kwesi Appiah struck the post with the goal gaping!
The Dons should have made their pressure pay, didn't do, and subsequently got punished. I've little sympathy for any team that doesn't take their chances when they're on top.
Given it was bitingly cold inside the stadium; undoubtedly the coldest night so far this winter, and with a slightly lower than usual crowd also meaning it was quite drafty in the West Stand, it's fair to say that most folk were happy that extra-time and penalties weren't needed.
A lot of criticism fell Seny Dieng's way during the course of the match for playing the ball short too often - thus making it predictable for the opposition.
Whilst I can understand the reasoning behind some of the critical comments (and actually believe that a bit variation to stop the opposition from 'second-guessing' what you're going to do isn't a bad thing), it's not as if this current Rovers side is full of personnel that suit a more 'direct' approach.
In the rare instances when Dieng or others did choose to go long, often the ball just came straight back as quite a few duels from downfield kicks either weren't won at all, or weren't won effectively enough.
I don't expect things to change because it's not universally popular amongst supporters and I admire the manager for sticking to his philosophies.
On a personal level, this FA Cup replay - something which I was very thankful for when the initial tie in South London ended in a 1-1 draw, means that I've now watched 968 competitive professional games in the United Kingdom.
Last season's FA Cup replay with Chorley at exactly the same stage was my 900th game and from that point up until the end of the season, I managed to fit in another 33 games.
So, unless Diane Abbott does the maths, there's every possibility in my mind that I could reach the 1,000 milestone by the time this season draws to its conclusion.
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