Coca-Cola League One
Saturday 11th September 2004
It's September 2004.
Nelly's 'Flap Your Wings' is keeping JoJo and Natasha Bedingfield off the top of the charts, Kelly Holmes is basking in the glory after her double gold medal exploits at the Summer Olympics, whilst Dave Penney's Doncaster Rovers are still searching for their first win on the road in the newly-named Coca-Cola League One.
Rovers, still riding very much on the crest of a wave following back-to-back promotions, had adjusted well to life in the higher division though all 10 of their points had come at Belle Vue with Blackpool, Huddersfield and Walsall beaten and Tranmere picking up a draw.
Up next was their first ever meeting with the Football League's most controversial club at the time; Milton Keynes Dons - the club who'd stolen Wimbledon FC, moved them 60-odd miles up the road to Buckinghamshire, changed their name, changed their colours and set-up camp in a hockey stadium.
It's not surprising, therefore, that they weren't particularly well-liked and had earned the moniker 'Franchise FC' from rival fans, along with many more less than pleasant names.
The 'Dons' were struggling in every possible way. Crowds were already dwindling at their ramshackle base situated just a stones-throw from Milton Keynes train station, whilst on the pitch they languished in the relegation zone with just five points to show for their early-season efforts.
It's fair to say that Stuart Murdoch's team needed a win just as much as Rovers needed to end their 'hoodoo' on the road.
Despite debates and arguments dominating fans' forums about whether it was morally right to attend this fixture for many weeks beforehand, a strong turnout of around 1,000 Rovers fans did make the trip to a place famed for it's sculptures of concrete crows. They were housed in a temporary, uncovered golf stand behind one of the goals though thankfully it didn't rain!
The game itself wasn't a classic - the acoustics of the stadium hardly paved the way for a good atmosphere and at times it felt almost eerie as despite the travelling army's best efforts to generate noise, sound simply didn't travel far.
Chances were few and far between and Andy Warrington had to parry away a powerful shot by Izale McLeod as MK enjoyed the better of the opening half. However, after the re-start, Rovers regrouped and gradually began to get on top with Mark Albrighton netting what turned out to be the only goal of the afternoon when he headed home from Jermaine McSporran's corner.
The reverse game at Belle Vue on Boxing Day ended in another triumph for Rovers, this time by a 3-0 scoreline with loanee Simon Johnson bagging a couple of goals.
At the end of the season, Donny finished in the top half of League One - only a few points shy of the play-off positions whilst MK, who sacked boss Stuart Murdoch and replaced him with Danny Wilson in December, pulled off a minor miracle to escape from what seemed at one point to be an inevitable relegation campaign.
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