Away On Saturday: Doncaster Rovers in the good old days!

Doncaster Rovers 2-0 Cambridge United

Nationwide Division Three

Monday 12th April 2004

Of what is now fast-approaching 1,000 league matches since Doncaster Rovers returned to the Football League, few have caused such a thrill of excitement and anticipation as this one.

Ridiculed and tagged as relegation favourites before a ball was even kicked, labelled as a 'Pub Team' by outspoken critics and even written off altogether following a six-game winless streak, Dave Penney's team defied the odds to stand on the brink of incredible glory going into this Bank Holiday Monday showdown with Cambridge United

The task was simple!

If Rovers won the game then back-to-back promotions would be achieved and with that would come a place in Division Two (soon to be renamed Coca-Cola League One) - competing against 'big club' ex-Premier League opponents such as Sheffield Wednesday, Bradford City, Wimbledon, Barnsley and Oldham Athletic for the 2004/05 campaign.

Everyone's expectations, whether it be those involved on the pitch or those watching from the stands, had been thoroughly exceeded time and again and Rovers' unlikely promotion challenge had captured people's imagination right across the town.

Whether it be the local postman, the bloke on the market stall or those who'd returned to their hometown to see some relatives and scoff on a few too many Easter Eggs over the holiday period, it seemed that everyone was donning a red and white hooped shirt sponsored by 'Streetwise Sports' and had flocked to Belle Vue to witness John Ryan's phoenix rising from the ashes of Ken Richardson's regime.

There was an electric buzz of optimism, anticipation, pure excitement, emotion and craving for all things DRFC in this period; a collective togetherness and unity that's rarely seen anywhere in football nowadays. Everyone involved knew these were great, good and golden times to savour!

The adrenaline rush was phenomenal and with fans having gathered 'en masse' from early in the day to (potentially!) watch promotion unfold, it was no surprise that Belle Vue brimming to its 9,500 capacity by 2.15pm - resulting in hundreds having to be turned away at the turnstiles. The fortunate ones who were inside took in a deep breath, hoped and prepared themselves to back their team whilst those outside scrambled up posts, fences and even up nearby houses to ensure they had a half-decent vantage point of the action.

The scenes were incredible and few DRFC games in the years since (certainly which I've ever been at) have ever come close to providing such a carnival atmosphere, sense of occasion or a date with destiny.

Climb a fence or the ladder up the roof of your house to get a good view if you need to! (Photo: Paul Gilligan).

Rovers' opponents Cambridge were in mid-table but nervously peering over their shoulders towards the relegation places and in some disarray. Having sold Dave Kitson to Reading at the midway point of the season, their wild form in the weeks afterwards culminated in John Taylor's sacking and his newly-appointed replacement was Claude Le Roy - a figure who managed Cameroon at the 1998 World Cup and had previously been associated with AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain, yet had now rocked up in the lowest tier of the Football League!

It all seemed rather strange, if not surreal and the Frenchman (who was present in the away dugout at Belle Vue) would later bizarrely claim that he never even managed Cambridge. It's little wonder with such shenanigans occurring around the club, the U's were relegated just a year later!

Having emerged onto the pitch to rapturous 'Rovers Til I Die' war cries from those packed tightly together on the terraces (and maybe those positioned on uncomfortable-looking vantage points outside), the first half saw Rovers attack towards the Town End but frustrated in their efforts to make a breakthrough.

Adebayo Akinfenwa was denied by the visiting 'keeper in the game's first opening before a set-back soon occurred as Michael McIndoe was forced off due to a facial injury - sustained in slightly different fashion to how he might get one nowadays if his whereabouts were known! His withdrawal paved the way for Paul Green's introduction who, having turned 21 only a few days earlier, probably hasn't had a better birthday weekend in all the years since!

The U's stifled things relatively well for the rest of the first period and then rode their luck to a great extent just after the re-start when another of Penney's youngsters who'd go on to have a decent career, Ricky Ravenhill, struck the upright with a thunderous volley before skipper Steve Foster also went close with a powerful header that forced a save.

With the scoreline still finely poised at 0-0, nerves were starting to jangle that little bit more as each minute passed and what Rovers really needed was a goal. It duly arrived on the hour mark as Akinfenwa sparked total and utter joy and pandemonium on the terraces by prodding the ball home from Greg Blundell's near-post delivery. Suddenly, the promotion dream was on the verge of becoming a distinct reality!

The Belle Vue crowd couldn't hide their pure delight and euphoria. At 1-0, there was now a sense that this was the day, this was the game and it was f**king happening. Months of hard work, graft and determination coupled with hopes, dreams and a burning inner-desire to succeed, to make something special happen and be part of something great was bearing fruit. Everything was being encapsulated in the very events which were unfolding before everyone's eyes.

Before anyone could catch their breath and take in the moment, another explosion of wild jubilation occurred as 'Greenie' produced a brilliant diving header from almost point-blank range after Dave Mulligan's cross to increase Rovers' lead to 2-0, ram home their superiority over everyone else in Division Three and emphasise that this was the day Donny Rovers were going up again!

It was party time!

The final whistle prompted a joyous pitch invasion by those who couldn't hide their delight at what this group of players had achieved. Once it was cleared, those in red and white hoops who'd performed so heroically to produce so many vintage moments soaked up and savoured every last second of their lap of honour.

'Greenie' took a tumble, later shown on TV, thanks to his captain's decent banter, 'Bayo' busted some dance moves which were a trademark feature during his time at the club and made his such a well-liked figure, whilst flags were waved aplenty to a backdrop of applause, chants of 'We Are Going Up' and 'Are You Watching Richardson?' Air horns were blasted from all corners of the ground with fans indulging in fist pumps, embraces, celebrations and the first talk of whether the big boys from the league above would enjoy coming to Belle Vue.

Tina Turner's 'Simply The Best' - an ever-present feature of the matchday experience in this era (regardless of the scoreline) never sounded so good when it was played over the PA system and it was a fitting song for such a monumental moment in Rovers' thrilling resurgence under John Ryan's ownership.

There was, however, still one job remaining... winning the title! But that's for another time and with a lot more photos to remember the occasion!