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Tuesday 21st January 2020
This was a good workout as a mixed Doncaster Rovers team made up predominantly of Under 16s but also including some youth team scholars, comfortably dispatched the I2i Academy.
Lexie Escritt opened the scoring in the early stages, before first-year forward Luca Nelson doubled the lead by half-time with a well-placed lob over an oncoming 'keeper.
Rovers continued to dominate and dictate proceedings and Corrie Cole bagged a third with a thunderbolt 25-yard attempt that flew into the top corner and would have been a 'Goal of the Month' contender in a different environment, before Ben [surname unknown] wrapped things up late on.
A plethora of other opportunities came to pass - some being saved by the visiting 'keeper whereas others just lacked accuracy. What would have also been a brilliant goal following a nice defence-splitting move was disallowed for offside, whilst there was a blatant penalty appeal (which looked nailed on) somehow not given by the officials.
All in all, the lads were good value for their win.
They played some decent football; pressing well throughout the game to force their opponents into errors, showing a hungry work-ethic - both in and out of possession, creating chances aplenty, and it was a good demonstration of their capabilities.
Unfortunately I don't know all the names of the current Under 16s having only seen snippets of them in action. Nevertheless, of those players who I do recognise; goalkeeper Luke Chadwick was steady enough between the sticks (though it wasn't the busiest night he'll ever have), whilst frontman Alex Wolny chased a lot and was a nuisance due to his work-rate.
The current youth team players who featured were Lewis Cunningham, Luca Nelson, Owan Derrett, Josh Clemitson and second-year Nathan Dimou.
Rolling substitutions ensured every player got a fair amount of game-time and several individuals featured in different positions, which is one of the many reasons why these games are useful.
A special mention needs to go to Luca Nelson, who has been in and out of the Under 18s starting line-up so far this season. He put in a good, eye-catching display - in my opinion the best which I've seen him have in a Rovers shirt to date. His goal midway through the first period; a clever, well-taken dink over the oncoming 'keeper from the edge of the area demonstrated composure and was just reward for his efforts. However, he also put himself about, chased, probed, caused problems and led the line very well. This is his benchmark to 'kick on' from - especially with the remaining Football League Youth Alliance games beginning again this weekend.
I'm glad I got to see this game and, whilst I don't know which Under 16s have earned scholarships, it was clear and obvious to see in this performance that they've been schooled well by Tony Mee and the rest of the coaching staff. Absolutely fair play to them all!
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