Doncaster Rovers (U18s) 0-1 Lincoln City (U18s)

Doncaster Rovers (U18s) 0-1 Lincoln City (U18s)
EFL Youth Alliance
Saturday 19th September 2020

Doncaster Rovers succumbed to a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Lincoln City in their second Football League Youth Alliance game of the season.

In what was the first youth team fixture at Cantley Park in six months, the reigning league champions produced a lukewarm display and found themselves behind inside the opening 10 minutes.

If truth be told, although Rovers did create some openings - the best of which saw Alex Wolny’s powerful near-post attempt tipped away, the Imps were the better team and should have won by a greater scoreline.

They struck the woodwork early on and, having squandered quite a few other good chances, saw a goalbound effort cleared off the line by Josh Clemitson in the second period.

The game was played ‘behind closed doors’ - thus meaning there no spectators were permitted into the training complex itself, though a handful of hardy souls (including myself) were able to take in the action from the safety of the perimeter fence.

Having also lost by a single goal at Scunthorpe last week, the lads will now be eager to register their first points of the campaign when they travel to Grimsby Town next weekend.

On a pleasant and sunny morning, youth team boss Paul Stancliffe fielded a team which consisted of every second-year scholar apart from Liam Ravenhill, whilst first-year youngsters Will Hollings, Michael Nesbitt and Alex Wolny were also named in the team.

Lincoln got proceedings underway and attacked towards the far end during the first 45 minutes, with Rovers - donning the new red and white kit for the first time, playing towards the end where those of us were behind the fence.

Most of the early action occurred in Rovers’ goalmouth - the lads being highly fortunate to survive when a Lincoln player was allowed to pull the trigger but his attempt cannoned back off the upright and away to safety.

The Imps certainly asserted themselves better - being first to most balls, and they then took the lead in somewhat simplistic fashion at a set-piece. A right-wing free-kick was delivered towards the near-post and some sloppy defending allowed an opponent to sneak in unnoticed and smash the ball into the top corner, thus giving ‘keeper Ben Bottomley little chance of saving it.

It was a blow to Rovers who escaped from another dangerous moment - this time as a shot was blocked within 30 seconds of their re-start after falling behind.

The ‘block’ led to a quick counter-attack which culminated with Owan Derrett being brought down on the edge of the Imps’ box, but Lewis Cunningham’s free-kick delivery and then Charlie Bell’s set-piece corner, both in the same phase of play, were easily dealt with by the visitors.

Rovers, by now, were establishing a mini-presence in the game. Everything positive was involving Derrett down the right flank and he helped create a good opportunity for Wolny on 21 minutes with a cut-back from tight to the byline into the six-yard box, which fell kindly for the first-year striker who unleashed a powerful, first-time shot which had to be palmed behind by Lincoln’s ‘keeper at his near-post.

Bell’s subsequent corner was then floated towards Nesbitt whose header unfortunately lacked direction as it drifted over the upright.

A minute later, the Imps posed problems at the other end with a back-peddling Bottomley having to watch the ball anxiously as he was at full-stretch to tip away what looked to be a speculative cross-cum-shot from the right side.

Most of the territorial pressure and possession was being enjoyed by Lincoln and, up to this point, it hadn’t been ‘good’ by Rovers despite the occasional fleeting moment.

On the half-hour mark, Rovers managed to pen their opponents in their own final third for a period in a move where skipper Ethan Bojang couldn’t quite carve out a shooting angle for himself on the edge of the box so played a pass inside towards Luca Nelson. His pass towards the edge of the ‘D’ reached Bell, whose subsequent attempt was blocked and despite the lads’ best efforts to recycle the ball thereafter, the visiting defence held firm against the pressure as the move eventually fizzled out.

Rovers then lost Nesbitt to a foot injury and he was replaced by fellow first-year Dan Wilds, whose first significant contribution was to intercept a low cross - crucial because, if he hadn’t done so, there was a striker unmarked in the box with time and space in his favour.

Derrett, at the opposite end, also had a low cross cut out, before the last action of the first 45 minutes saw Hollings’ ‘pea-roller’ shot routinely, and comfortably, saved.

At this point, it was evident that Donny’s performance needed improvement and hopes of a comeback were raised when Bell was brought down in a shooting position, on the edge of the visitors’ box, just five minutes after the re-start. Cunningham took responsibility with the subsequent set-piece but his attempt was high, wide and didn’t trouble the ‘keeper.

Just seconds later, the Imps then squandered what would be the first in a series of genuinely good opponents as a long downfield ball eluded the hosts’ backline. A striker got in-behind and looked odds on to score though at the crucial moment, he went off balance, lost his footing and the effort he was able to unleash was off-target.

It was a let off for Rovers who then made their second substitution with rapid wideman Tavonga Kuleya introduced for Hollings in a tactical shake-up.

Lincoln remained as the side in the ascendancy, however, yet their finishing continued to leave plenty to be desired with one attempt going over the upright before another, in a separate move, ended with Bottomley making an easy save from a weak shot when he should have been properly tested.

On 66 minutes, when they worked the defence once more after some good, neat football and did manage to get the ball on target, Clemitson was perfectly positioned on the line to intervene and keep the scoreline at 0-1.

Around this point in the game, Corie Cole replaced Wolny.

Rovers’ threat was sporadic, haphazard and, even though the visitors would have only had themselves to blame for missed chances, an equaliser during the final quarter of proceedings never felt probable.

Bell’s free-kick from out wide, only minutes before he received a whack to the nose, was easily claimed and when Kuleya went on a bursting run down the left, his inviting ball across the box wasn’t converted because nobody was in a good enough position to meet it.

It was frustrating and disappointing in equal measure - even more so with just under 10 minutes to go, when Cunningham’s right-sided free-kick towards the near-post was cut out by the ‘keeper, despite Nelson lurking in close proximity.

The final minutes were interrupted by a lengthy delay of about 10-15 minutes as a Lincoln player seemed to pick up a neck/head injury, just a matter of feet away from their technical area on the touchline. He eventually had to be stretchered off and, hopefully, he is okay now.

When play resumed there were just a couple of minutes remaining and, even then, any hopes of a comeback looked unlikely.

Instead, the final action should have resulted in a second Imps goal as their frontman burst clean through in yards of space after a Max Jemson mistake, had time and space on his side, but horrendously lacked composure with an attempt which went into the side-netting.

It didn’t matter, nevertheless, as the final whistle was quickly blown - thus bringing the curtain down on what was a thought-provoking afternoon of disappointment for the lads in red and white hoops. It was a positive one for Lincoln though who were worthy winners and deserve credit because they seemed to be a different animal - stronger, more dominant, physically bigger and tougher opponents than what they were last term. The only ‘negative’ which can be aimed their way is the fact they didn’t take some of the chances when they ought to have done.

On overall reflection from a DRFC perspective, there will be a lot of frustration about what went wrong today amongst the lads themselves because they know they’re better and more capable than what they produced as a team. They’ve all earned scholarships by being good enough but they just simply didn’t click or hit their groove today - and, to a large degree from what I’ve heard, last week at Scunthorpe, as well.

It was a disappointing performance with few positives and, in all honesty, they should have been on the receiving end of a bigger scoreline.

However, there are aspects which need to be taken into account - such as the current situation involving Covid-19 and the whopping uncertainty that brings to every aspect of basic everyday life. It’s resulting in long and lengthy days for some lads who are having to do much more travelling to participate in games/training and maybe that’s taking its toll whereas before it wasn’t even an issue.

Plus, there’s the disappointing way in which last season was curtailed (for the second-year lads) at a time when optimism, confidence and enjoyment was sky high - the fact things just went flat almost overnight and they never got to enjoy ‘the moment’ of winning it on the pitch. Maybe there’s a sadness or hangover effect from that? Who knows?

Ultimately, in my opinion this season is one where everyone in the team just needs to enjoy it as much as possible and stay optimistic amidst all the gloom in the world. Obviously, if results and team performances aren’t good on a regular basis then it’s going to be a much longer, tougher season for everyone involved, so it’s important now that collectively the lads get together amongst themselves, create bonds, figure out what they need to do to produce better performances and to dominate some teams, listen to the feedback from coaches and in different sessions and strive to be the best they possibly can be.

Who’ll be the characters who step up? Who’ll be the leaders? Who’ll be the jokers? Who’ll be the ray of sunshine that lifts morale when it’s down? Everyone involved, first-years and second-years, has a part to play in this - looking after both themselves and those around them - and if they’re able to figure these bits out then it’ll only further enhance the likelihood of enjoyment during this weird time.

There’s certainly plenty to work on over the next week - that’s not a bad thing whatsoever and it’s ‘back to basics’ in the sense that the lads still need a result to then build upon.

Although pretty much everything is uncertain from one day to the next at present, I’ll always try my best to be at as many games as possible to support the lads, create something they can look back on in years to come, and provide these (hopefully informative) blog posts for anyone who isn’t able to make it to games.

If anyone has a spare tree costume (Teddy Sheringham?), a pair of binoculars or a step-ladder from B&Q, then it may well come in useful during this bizarre ‘behind closed doors’ era…

Team: Ben Bottomley, Josh Clemitson, Lewis Cunningham, Charlie Bell, Max Jemson, Michael Nesbitt (Dan Wilds), Owan Derrett, Will Hollings (Tavonga Kuleya), Luca Nelson, Ethan Bojang, Alex Wolny (Corie Cole). Unused Sub: Luke Chadwick.