Scunthorpe United (U23s) 1-6 Doncaster Rovers (U23s)

Scunthorpe United (U23s) 1-6 Doncaster Rovers (U23s)
Central League
Monday 2nd March 2020

Make no mistake about it, the team performance by Doncaster Rovers in this game was every bit as emphatic as the scoreline suggests as they absolutely walloped a well below par Scunthorpe United at Cantley Park.

Rovers were by far the more adventurous, creative and dominant side for huge swathes of the contest - enjoying vastly superior possession, whilst torturing their opponents with some scintillating football time after time.

Junior Smith (2), Matty Blair, Jack Watson, Jason Lokilo and Rieves Boocock all got their names on the score-sheet at different points in proceedings though there could have been quite a few more goals as well. Everyone wearing a red and white hooped shirt contributed a significant amount to victory in some way - thus making it one of, if not actually the best, team performance that I've seen at Under 23s level this season.

The reason why Scunthorpe, albeit younger with the personnel they fielded, took a hiding was because they didn't work hard, close down, track back and defend anywhere near well enough - that's the harsh, brutally honest, reality! Too often, Roves players were allowed to saunter forwards at leisure or were afforded way too much time and space when in possession.

Nevertheless, none of the visitors' self-inflicted issues should detract from just how dominant and impressive Gary McSheffrey's side were. Barring one or two sloppy periods and some misfortune at times in front of goal (even despite the scoreline), it was close to a perfect team display.

The game was initially due to be played at Bottesford Town's Birkdale Park but the recent wet weather meant the clash was switched at short notice to Cantley Park which, all things considered, looked in a tremendous condition.

Rovers again opted to mix youth and experience as senior players Matty Blair, Alex Baptiste and Jason Lokilo, who made his first team debut last weekend, all named in the starting xi alongside usual names such as Branden Horton, AJ Greaves, Will McGowan and Elliott Walker. Scunthorpe's line-up mainly consisted of their current Under 18s team but there was one 'blast from the past' with Adam Hammill included.

On a sunny but cold afternoon, it was Doncaster who started much the most positive and dominated the early possession - finding the net on 10 minutes when Jack Watson slotted home following some good, passing build-up play between Junior Smith and Jason Lokilo, but the strike was ruled out due to offside.

The Iron's first attempt saw Hammill try his luck with a speculative 30-yard pot-shot on the counter-attack around the quarter-hour mark which had to be watched closely and then superbly palmed over by Rovers' trialist 'keeper.

It was from the subsequent corner-kick that the first goal arrived - though at the other end.

Greaves' superb, inch-perfect ball out of defence put a counter-attack in motion and Horton picked it up high on the left flank, before he saw an initial shot blocked by Charlie Barks. The ball was then recycled to Lokilo whose sweetly-struck attempt was palmed across goal by Scunny 'keeper Adam Kelsey and back into the path of Horton who lofted it perfectly across the face of goal towards Blair and he made no mistake with a close-range finish.

It was a well-crafted goal - though one which Scunthorpe clearly felt frustrated about given how they'd been cut apart so easily on the counter-attack.

Things could have got much worse for the visitors just a minute later, however, had the referee waved play on when Smith was brought down inside the box. It looked a convincing enough case (and there were plenty of appeals from players in red and white) but the referee waved play on.

Rovers were strutting around with a real zest and purpose at this point with Horton wreaking havoc on the left channel, Greaves covering every blade of glass and Will McGowan nonchalantly popping 50-yard passes to the feet of his team-mates.

Above everyone was Lokilo and the youngster contributed significantly to the next attack as he dropped back brilliantly to win the ball on the edge of his own box and helped to get another passing move going. Twenty passes or so later, which involved multiple players, the Scunthorpe defence had been stretched apart and a right-wing ball across goal caught a deflection and reached Horton, whose shot was unfortunately straight at the 'keeper. Nevertheless, it was a high-quality footballing move and a great example of everything positive about the team.

Another chance went begging just before the half-hour mark when Elliott Walker's short corner wasn't dealt with whatsoever and Blair's dangerous headed flick on found Baptiste who was given the time to chest it down and spray an inviting low ball across a packed goalmouth - but nobody could make a telling connection to turn it into the net.

Scunthorpe's best openings were on the counter-attack and, despite having been camped inside their own half for much of the game up to now, they did put the ball in the back of the net - only for Harry Jessop's strike from Hammill's run and lay-off, to be disallowed for offside.

It was a reprieve in the scoreline which Rovers were to take full advantage of just three minutes later, as they made it 2-0. In this attack, Blair carried the ball forward only to be forced wide, but the experienced winger then hooked an appetising right-wing cross into the six-yard box which was volleyed emphatically into the net by Watson - the youth team player having timed his run to absolute perfection.

Two goals down and with half-an-hour gone, the visitors knew it would an uphill struggle for them to take anything from the game but their challenge became one of Mount Everest sized proportions when Smith made it 3-0 on 35 minutes. In an almost carbon copy scenario to the first goal, it was a ball out from the back towards the impressive Horton, high up on the left channel, which caused the problems and after his lay-off to Blair resulted in the former York City man seeing his thunderous effort crash back off the woodwork, Smith was left with the simplest of finishes on the rebound from only a few yards out.

It was a commanding position for Doncaster to be in, so what happened next was truly bizarre - and down to a simple lack in concentration.

Straight from the resulting re-start, the ball was knocked back from the centre-spot to Hamill who unleashed a speculative pot-shot. The Rovers trialist 'keeper was off his line, possibly with the sun in his eyes as well, and despite back-peddling he couldn't do enough as the ball sailed straight over his head and into the net - thus becoming one of the weirdest goals that you're ever likely to see.

At 3-1, things got feisty and tempers threatened to boil over - firstly as Iron skipper Jo Cummings was spoken to by the referee, having mouthed off at him regarding an offside decision, and moments afterwards when the visitors' right-back ridiculously 'squared up' to Horton and Blair. Surprisingly, neither incident was deemed a bookable offence!

Any misguided aggression from their opponents wasn't going to derail dominant Donny, however, and Lokilo went close on two more occasions before the half-time interval - drawing two good saves from Kelsey (one from a free-kick and one from an open-play situation) at his left-hand post.

The break couldn't have come at a better time for Scunthorpe, given they were beginning to lose their discipline and self-destruct on the back of what had been a disappointing first 45 minutes from their perspective, but if they hoped Rovers would take it easier after the re-start, they were wrong.

Just over 60 seconds into the second period, Greaves was unlucky not to bag a goal for himself with a sweetly-struck and dipping effort which had the 'keeper beaten yet cannoned off the crossbar - again, coming as he was allowed to venture forward in the opposition half unopposed.

Smith went just as close to making it 4-1, two minutes later, when he got possession just a few yards out following some nifty footwork by Lokilo and saw his toe-poke shot smothered by a defender who somehow scrambled the ball away to safety.

The one-way traffic showed no signs whatsoever of stopping and Watson was the next player to go within a whisker of bagging a fourth goal - capitalising on some brilliant play to Smith on the byline who'd beat his man, cut inside, and picked him out with a dink towards the far-post. Despite making a perfect and accurate connection, Kelsey was somehow equal to Watson's header - saving it with his feet in order to keep the visitors in the game.

Both Greaves and defender Ben Blythe were both cautioned for separate fouls around the hour mark - to the disbelief of quite a few onlookers who felt the referee wasn't displaying consistency given what happened close to half-time. Feelings towards the officials didn't get any better just a minute later when Smith showed an excellent pace in an attempt to latch onto a long ball forward from the back but was stopped in his tracks by a covering defender, who took him to the floor, only for nothing to be awarded.

Smith wasn't to be perturbed by the officials' unwillingness to award him anything because less than a minute later, he bagged his second goal of the afternoon - latching onto a simple pass from Blair, who yet again had burst through relatively unopposed, for a comfortable finish.

The Iron players were starting to turn on one another by this point; the goalkeeper barracking those ahead of him whilst the skipper demanded more effort and some others, sheepishly (but noticably), remained pretty much silent. There were elements of truth in what was being said though the inquest for conceding the fourth goal had barely started by the time the visitors needed to begin another one for shipping a fifth goal.

Lokilo had been brilliantly denied by Kelsey, having been put through into a one-on-one by Smith, before Blair's follow-up on the back of that move was blocked at the expense of a corner. It was from that corner, that a short pass was played to Lokilo whose teasing right-wing cross (similar to where he assisted from in Saturday's win over Wycombe) evaded absolutely everyone and nestled into the far corner of the goal.

It was by now a rout and the question on the minds of those watching from the sidelines would be just how many more goals could McSheffrey's team add to their tally.

Smith should have completed his hat-trick on 73 minutes when he took up an excellent position inside the box and latched onto an inviting pass by Walker, who'd done brilliant to get the ball to him, though the striker horribly miscued his effort over the upright.

A quadruple substitution with a quarter-of-an-hour remaining disrupted Rovers' fluidity as the players introduced for those who were withdrawn took a while to pick up the pace of the game, which allowed Scunthorpe to finally be able to keep possession for more than a few seconds.

However, by the final few minutes, it was the team in red and white who were pouring forward at every opportunity in search of a sixth goal - something which they thought they'd found when Blair powered a shot home after Liam Ravenhill had done well to recycle a move when an initial attempt from Rieves Boocock clipped the post, but it was ruled out for offside.

A minute later, Boocock did evade the offside trap to score - showing a good touch and composure to beat the 'keeper and make it 6-1 - subsequently ensuring Scunthorpe's terrible afternoon was all the more miserable!

Those on the sidelines who'd watched the game seemed happy with what they'd witnessed and, having watched the vast majority of Under 23s games this season (barring the away matches in the Premier League Cup) it ranks as the best team performance that I've seen.

Every player made a significant contribution towards the win with Jason Lokilo standing out the most as his 'twinkle toes' type footwork was far too much for the opposition to handle.

Branden Horton looked solid and composed at left-back; peeling into empty space, offering an outlet going forward and grabbing some assists. He's usually consistent anyway and for me, this was his best game in a while - a perfect example of all his attributes being executed well. Elliott Walker, at right-back, supplemented attacks effectively as well, was involved in the build up to two goals and also worked hard to set-up another chance just before he was taken off.

Ben Blythe looked assured as usual at centre-back alongside Alex Baptiste - even though it wasn't the toughest of games for the defence.

In the middle, AJ Greaves 'ratted' brilliantly and wasn't phased whatsoever by the individual battles he had with Scunthorpe's most experienced player in Adam Hammill. Some of his passing was also just as exquisite as Will McGowan's as well and a lot of credit has to go to those two.

Matty Blair caused umpteen problems, scored two goals (one disallowed), linked up attacks well, featured in a few positions over the course of the game and was a perfect example to the younger players around him. Junior Smith bagged twice, contributed well; an example being the assist for Jack Watson's headed attempt which was saved, though he maybe should have had a hat-trick with the third attempt later in the game. Jack Watson was fine too - showing intelligence where needed and the run/movement/technique for his volley was superb.

The substitutes didn't really have enough time to make a huge impact though Rieves Boocock's goal underlines his capabilities and prowess as a striker.

It was a pleasure to watch such a terrific team display. Well done!

Team: Trialist, Elliott Walker (Rian McLean), Branden Horton, Ben Blythe, Alex Baptiste, Will McGowan (Lirak Hasani), Matty Blair, AJ Greaves, Junior Smith, Jason Lokilo (Rieves Boocock), Jack Watson (Liam Ravenhill). Unused Sub: Kian Johnson.