When Rovers went to St James' Park

Newcastle United 2-1 Doncaster Rovers
Coca Cola Championship
Saturday 24th October 2009

It's the best attended league fixture involving Doncaster Rovers in a generation although it's an occasion which still has bittersweet memories for many.

On Saturday 24th October 2009, Rovers fans travelled 'en masse' up to the North-East to watch their heroes take on Newcastle United in the Coca-Cola Championship for what was yet another landmark moment in John Ryan's tenure as chairman.

Despite mass protests against Mike Ashley's ownership (some things never change!), Newcastle were overwhelming favourites to win the league having been relegated on the final day of the previous Premier League campaign during Alan Shearer's short sojourn into football management. Now led by Chris Hughton, they'd retained most of their squad from the previous year - making it one of the most expensive to have ever competed in the second tier of English football. Established internationals such as Damien Duff, Nicky Butt, Peter Lovenkrands, Geremi and Fabricio Collicini were all on their books along with other household names such as Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton, Alan Smith and Andy Carroll.

By comparison, Rovers, in their second season in the Championship under Sean O'Driscoll, had a meagre budget which was one of the division's smallest, and were still recovering from the sales of Richie Wellens (to Leicester) and Matt Mills (to Reading) the previous summer. 

The view from the away end! (Photo: Unknown)

A 3-1 midweek success over Peterborough, four days earlier, had hoisted Rovers away from teams in the relegation zone but this was always going to be a tough encounter as Newcastle were joint-top of the table alongside West Bromwich Albion.

The club's official allocation of just over 3,000 tickets unsurprisingly sold-out within a matter of days but many others still made the trip to Tyneside and simply purchased tickets in various 'home' sections - it's fair to say the home club's ticket 'checks' weren't the most stringent! Furthermore, such was the anger and apathy from Newcastle fans directed towards their unpopular owner, even though around 5,000 Rovers fans (possibly more) were present, there were still some 8,000 seats inside St James' Park.

The game heralded a return to familiar surroundings for James Coppinger and Lewis Guy; the duo having come through the ranks, albeit not together, at Newcastle in their younger days.

Grey clouds and gloomy weather couldn't dampen the spirits of the travelling Rovers fans who were located 'up in the heavens' in the Leazes Stand - the view from there also offering a birds-eye glimpse of Newcastle city centre's skyline stretching all the way beyond the Tyne Bridge.

A birds-eye view of Newcastle! Sadly, there was no pot of gold... (Photo: Unknown)

There was a palpable sense of excitement as the teams emerged from the players' tunnel to Mark Knopfler's 'Local Hero' at five to three; this was Doncaster Rovers on a grand stage!

Rovers acquitted themselves well in the contest and threatened to pull off a huge shock when Dean Shiels scooped a shot past Steve Harper from a few yards following a neat, passing interchange involving several players which was a trademark of Sean O'Driscoll's tenure.

Still leading well past the hour mark, the Magpies rallied against a backdrop of frustrated groans in Geordie tones and eventually forced an equaliser on 67 minutes as Andy Carroll latched onto a ball over the top and unleashed a first-time volley which flew past Neil Sullivan.

A huge moment then occurred with under a quarter-of-an-hour to go as Rovers were awarded a spot-kick after referee Darren Deadman spotted a handball following Jimmy O'Connor's ball into the area. Excitement levels grew in an instant and the record button was hit on numerous camera phones across St James' Park as Martin Woods stepped up for the resulting penalty.

Had he scored, it may well have led to three points - and a result which would have ranked alongside some of the best in Sean O'Driscoll's tenure, but instead the Scotsman's effort was high, wide and it was the home fans who left cheering in sheer relief.

Despite Newcastle being reduced to 10 men after Zurab Khizanisvili's red card, there was to be a final (and painful) sting in the tale - a moment which went against the entire balance of the game. Deep into injury-time, Kevin Nolan picked up possession inside Rovers' half, drove forward and hit a powerful shot into Sullivan's bottom right-hand corner.

The Magpies had won the game in dramatic fashion and nobody quite knew how given that Rovers' display deserved so much more than a 'gutting' and dramatic defeat.

Ultimately, Newcastle didn't lose a home game on what proved to be an eventual charge towards the Coca-Cola Championship title, though they probably never came closer to doing so than on this day...