Carling Cup Memories (Part 2)

It was a night which saw Premier League visitors toppled infront of the Sky Sports cameras - much to Liam Gallagher's annoyance, whilst a debutant became an instant club legend.

It was a grand and magnificent occasion under the Belle Vue floodlights when Doncaster Rovers triumphed on penalties over Manchester City in the Carling Cup and Jan Budtz etched his name DRFC folklore.

The dramatic, unforgettable and unexpected success gained many newspaper headlines and elevated the club's status to new audiences in the football world. What was unknown at the time was that this would be just one small step on a brilliant journey all the way to the Quarter-Finals!

Under Stuart Pearce, City weren't quite the formidable force they are nowadays, but their squad did possess many household names with vast Premier League experience such as David James, Darius Vassell, Andy (Andrew) Cole, Richard Dunne and Sylvain Distin. 

Much of the pre-match hype was centred around Joey Barton and whether or not he'd feature but his manager, perhaps sensibly, chose to leave him out of the line-up. After all, he didn't want to run the risk of his young midfielder being grappled around the neck by Mark Albrighton again - as is what happened in the pre-season 'friendly' meeting just over a year earlier.

As kick-off fast-approached, over 8,000 fans packed the Belle Vue terraces - in hope rather than expectation and with intrigue to see how the local heroes in red and white hoops would fare against their 'big time' opponents.

Rovers had endured a tumultuous start to the new League One season. A plethora of new signings - including Sean Thornton, Paul Heffernan and Phil McGuire, were still finding their feet and optimism had quickly turned to concern as just two wins in nine games meant Dave Penney's team were languishing in the relegation zone.

Therefore, the Carling Cup offered some respite though the first 90 minutes of this game weren't entirely enthralling; City forcing the early pace but being denied on several occasions by Andy Warrington before Rovers eventually established a foothold and it became a tight, tepid affair. 

Without doubt the most memorable opportunity in normal-time came late on when Lee Croft's pass teed-up Sun Jihai whose shot powerful stinging shot ricocheted violently back off the upright and was eventually scrambled away to safety, to gasps of relief from those watching.

Nevertheless, it took the visitors just five minutes of extra-time to make a breakthrough and it came courtesy of a spot-kick. McGuire upended Dunne, referee Graham Salisbury correctly penalised the Scotsman and Vassell finished with aplomb infront of the Town End.

Rovers' night appeared to be going from bad to worse when Warrington sustained a broken leg in a collision with Nedum Onuoha, who'd slid in after losing control of the ball. The City youngster was shown a red card (later rescinded) for the challenge whilst the stalwart 'keeper needed treatment for several minutes before he was eventually stretchered off, and it ultimately paved the way for Jan Budtz to make his debut.

However, with not much in the way of goalmouth action thereafter as minutes away by and the end of extra-time got ever closer, there seemed to be a weird, eerie echo around Belle Vue with some fans resigned in the belief that there'd be no cup shock in this game.

Nobody could have expected, nor anticipated the drama which was about to unfold as Sean McDaid launched a speculative throw into the Manchester City area in the 118th minute - a move which culminated with the referee blowing his whistle for another penalty having spotted Sylvain Distin clambering all over Heffernan.

It was a soft decision but nobody cared and Michael McIndoe duly dispatched his shot from 12 yards to equalise and as he wheeled away in celebration to a backdrop of Tony Christie's Amarillo playing aloud from the PA system and rapturous joy from those on the terraces, it soon dawned on everyone that the tie would now be settled via a penalty shoot-out.

A glaring opportunity was present for someone to make a name for themselves, to become a hero, and it was Rovers' rookie sub 'keeper who stepped forward to achieve notoriety.

McIndoe sent David James the wrong way again to give Penney's players the advantage from the first kick in the shoot-out, whilst Vassell lashed a drive against the upright. 

James Coppinger (who was in his second season at the club though still awaiting his first goal for the club at this point), then struck to make it 2-0 before Budtz pulled off his first save - guessing correctly to palm away a disappointing low effort by Antoine Sibierski and leave Man City on the brink of elimination.

Heffernan then made it three from three which meant Ireland international Dunne had to score when he stepped up - only to see his effort palmed onto the post by the imposing Danish 'keeper. 

In an instant, it was over - Rovers triumphant by a 3-0 scoreline on spot-kicks and a new club legend was born as fans flocked onto the pitch from all corners of Belle Vue to celebrate.

For the next few days ahead of the eagerly-anticipated Third Round draw, the club was caught up in a whirlwind of media attention, headlines and praise from far and wide. Would it be a trip to a top flight ground or another home tie at Belle Vue in the next round?

By contrast, City, who'd harboured hopes of winning the Carling Cup, were left to ponder what might have been. They'd quite simply had a 'Bad Day' - a song which, ironically, was at Number 5 in the UK Singles Charts at the time. If only their Number 5 hadn't fouled Paul Heffernan towards the end of extra-time...

If you missed 'Part One' of this series featuring the First Round win at Wrexham, click here.