Sky Bet League One
Saturday 29th February 2020
As victories go, this was relatively straightforward for Doncaster Rovers who overcame a terribly slow start to deservedly beat promotion-chasing Wycombe Wanderers.
Niall Ennis got the opener on the stroke of half-time before substitute Adebayo Akinfenwa drew Gareth Ainsworth's side level midway through the second period. Rovers weren't to be denied though as Kieran Sadlier quickly restored an advantage and Jason McCarthy's own goal wrapped things up in the closing stages of the game.
On the whole, I was somewhat underwhelmed by Wycombe who started really well without actually creating a vast amount of danger. Their hard-work, pressing and endeavour was evident and they were also well-drilled in gamesmanship-type tactics yet at the same time they seemed to lack quality when it was needed and relied on set-piece situations a bit too much. I've listened to Ainsworth's post-match interview and find some of what he's said at odds with what I saw. Based on this complete display then I'd be surprised if they won promotion; Yes, there were some good aspects to their game, but other aspects were flat - surely they can perform better?
Whilst Wanderers' performance was debatable, there's no denying Rovers began slowly and improved as things progressed and by the final whistle, they could have easily bagged another goal or had a penalty in injury-time. There was some good individual displays across the pitch - notably from captain Ben Whiteman, goalscorer Sadlier and Danny Amos who was drafted in at left-back. Winger Jason Lokilo, on loan from Crystal Palace, also deserves a mention for his terrific back-post cross which brought about the third goal and, essentially, wrapped up the win.
It was a bitterly cold afternoon at the Keepmoat Stadium despite perfect blue skies for Rovers' first fixture on 29th February since the 1990s and in the opening half-hour, the hosts' performance was barely lukewarm as the visitors dominated possession, pressed well, chased things down and looked quite promising. A spate of three-blocked shots in quick succession from an attack which began on the right flank and a teasing, dipping and in-swinging corner by Joe Jacobson (which had Seny Dieng worried) was as close as the visitors came though.
Donny gradually improved and almost had an opened when Amos' left-foot free-kick was fumbled by the away 'keeper who then did enough to distract Joe Wright on the rebound.
That chance was a turning point of sorts and in the lead up towards half-time, Amos went on a weaving run from the left channel just inside the Wycombe half to a central position on the edge of the area - twisting, turning, showing good skill and doing a fancy pirouette to keep the ball, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, a defender made a crucial interception.
Rovers took the lead just three minutes later when Ennis rode a challenge in the box thanks to some nifty footwork, opened up a shooting angle and finished with aplomb - having initially been put through on goal following some good build-up play between Madger Gomes and Ben Whiteman.
Amos and Jacob Ramsey were both denied during three minutes of first half injury-time as Donny led 1-0 at the break - some might say 'fortuitously' but again, for all Wycombe's pressure during their 25-30 minutes on top, they hadn't really tested Dieng.
In the second half, Darren Moore's team maintained their tempo from how they'd finished the first half and went in search of a second goal - coming close when visiting 'keeper Ryan Allsop raced off his line to reach Devante Cole's defence-splitting through ball towards Ramsey, and closer again as Tom Anderson had a header scrambled off the goal-line.
It wasn't long until Adebayo Akinfenwa (replacing Alex Samuel who'd been kept very quiet) was introduced and the big, powerful frontman immediately became a focal point for Wanderers' attacks and it paid dividends when he capitalised on some sloppiness at the 'second phase' following a corner, spun and unleashed a low snap-shot from the edge of the box which went in.
With a quarter of the game to go, you'd have probably fancied Wycombe more than Rovers at this point but the script was ripped up within five minutes of Akinfenwa's equaliser when Kieran Sadlier peeled away at the back-post into an offside position (as clear as anything) to meet Whiteman's set-piece delivery from 30 yards out and tapped home.
Any momentum which the visitors had was now extinguished; Rovers were moving the ball around well, showing confidence and belief, and a third goal arrived when a sumptuous, inviting back-post cross from the right flank by Jason Lokilo was inadvertently knocked into his own net by McCarthy - an unfortunate own-goal but one which put the result to bed.
Wycombe could barely muster anything up in the final few minutes and, instead, Rovers would have had an opportunity to score a fourth goal if the referee hadn't controversially waved away a huge shout for a penalty appeal when Devante Cole was hacked down inside the box. It looked blatant and an easy decision to make, but the officials weren't convinced and having actually viewed the incident back on replays, it does appear the defender got a touch on the ball.
A lot of frustration was directed towards the referee, Mr David Rock, throughout the game from home supporters who felt he either let too many challenges go entirely unpunished or was too quick to blow his whistle when a Wycombe player went down.
Certainly, it was a tactic from visiting players to go down, scream as loud as possible and claim they'd been caught in a deliberate attempt to deceive the officials. It happened three or four times, usually the player was up straight away if they got awarded the free-kick and on one occasion, Gareth Ainsworth even gave it the old thumbs up to Paul Smyth when he'd done it. Some people will call it cheating but for me, it's gamesmanship. It happens at all levels, everywhere, to varying extents and it's not altogether different from an incident around the hour mark when Niall Ennis purposely prevented the Wycombe manager retrieving a loose ball and giving it to one of his players so he could take a quick throw-in.
I've got no problems with Wanderers' tactics - a lot of fans might whinge, whine and complain about it, but often they're the same fans who wouldn't bat an eye-lid if the players of whatever team they support then do exactly the same thing. If Wycombe feel they can 'succeed' by these tactics then fair enough - let them get on with it!
Ultimately, it's down to the officials to not be deceived, yet Mr Rock was fooled on multiple occasions - even after Darren Moore had brought it to the Fourth Official during the first half after the incident with Smyth (which happened on the near touchline). It didn't go down well and the referee seemed inconsistent, if not stupid, with his decision-making because he got plenty wrong (for both teams) and it was best summed up by the 'stone-wall' fouls on Jacob Ramsey and Danny Amos which weren't given and the penalty incident in injury-time which is open for debate.
I don't like criticising officials because it's easy to watch a game from the sidelines or view highlights and point fingers of blame, however, it was the worst display of officiating that I've seen at a Football League fixture this season. It was bad - on a par with Trevor Kettle, Mick Russell, Darren Drysdale or Graham Salisbury type of bad; inconsistent, controversial and unacceptable.
The irony is that Wycombe, who benefited from Mr Rock's ineptitude quite a few times during the afternoon, will themselves feel hard done by given that Rovers' second goal was converted from an offside position.
Some fans will now wonder, given the win and decent performance, whether the team can now make up ground on the top six and challenge for a play-off spot. Whilst it sounds nice, idealistic and plausible (in the eyes of some) the likelihood is that it won't happen, it's a long shot and the remaining games should just be enjoyed without any pressure, expectation or fear.
The team is probably about where they deserve to be when everything is taken into consideration so whatever happens in the next two months, happens, and it's easier to just enjoy the ride without getting carried away.
On a personal note (with some statistics to send you to sleep if you've managed to read this far), today was my 987th competitive game in the United Kingdom - meaning that I've still got 13 games to go if I'm to clock up 1,000 games by the end of the season. In those 987 games, I've seen 2,501 goals, which is an average of 2.53 goals per game, and Kieran Sadlier's today was the 2,500th.
Good night, sleep tight - and hopefully Mr Rock won't give you nightmares!
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