Pre-Season Friendly
Wednesday 28th July 2021
Youth team football finally returned to Cantley Park following the Covid-19 pandemic as Doncaster Rovers continued their preparations for the upcoming season with a battling 2-1 win over Leeds United.
In a game which saw plenty of chances at either end (as well as a downpour of torrential rain and hailstones midway through the second half), Rovers edged out their West Yorkshire rivals thanks to goals by Tom Parkinson and A.Trialist. Leeds' late strike was little more than a consolation; occuring from what was pretty much the last kick of the game when their No.10 was afforded too much time and space to pick his spot from inside the area.
This was Rovers' second pre-season outing following the 2-0 win at Pinchbeck United on Saturday and the first youth fixture at Cantley Park since last December. Officially, the game took place 'behind closed doors' though a handful of spectators were able to watch through the perimeter fence located behind the goal. It's hardly an ideal vantage point though and nor should it be expected to happen for the long-term. Hopefully, it won't be long before the draconian restrictions are removed altogether by the club and the two dozen or so people who'll turn up regularly are able to watch 'normally' again from the sidelines.
Along with the distance from the pitch, player identification was made notably trickier by the fact the black numbering printed on Doncaster's home shirts this season is quite difficult to make out - therefore, if there are any cock-ups within this piece, I'll get my excuse in now!
Leeds, sporting their away strip, fielded a mixture of under 18s, 17s and 16s players - some of whom were familiar to new first-year scholars Charlie Petch, Jack Raper and Jak Whiting due to the fact they were all previously in the academy set-up with them at Elland Road.
The visitors began the stronger of the two teams and enjoyed the lions share of the early possession - asking quite a few questions of the Rovers defence who were required to keep their shape, structure and discipline and make some important interceptions to prevent openings from arising.
Following a couple of potentially dangerous moments defensively, Rovers carved out their first opportunity on 10 minutes when Tavonga Kuleya tried his luck with an attempt from the edge of the area which wasn't quite accurate enough to trouble the 'keeper.
It wasn't long until the scoring was opened though and it was Tom Parkinson, in the right place at the right time, who grabbed the goal on the quarter-hour mark. As a consequence of Parkinson's initial persistence in an aerial battle, Alex Fletcher was able to collect the ball inside the Leeds penalty area and his neat turn and quick dart to the byline was followed by an appetising delivery through the goalmouth where Parkinson was on hand to finish from a couple of yards out.
The goal was well-worked, considering it cut the visitors' backline apart, yet somewhat against the run of play at that point and Leeds continued to look decent in possession although the best of the opportunties they created up to half-time saw one shot go into the side-netting of Luke Chadwick's near-post, another speculative shot from 20 yards go very narrowly wide, whilst the Rovers 'keeper was called into action on a couple of occasions and also needed to demonstrate good handling and commanding of his area.
The visitors were decent, to their credit, but Rovers had a really good spell of pressure around the half-hour mark during which they created a flurry of good chances in a relatively short space of time.
Kuleya seemed destined to make it 2-0 when he found himelf in a one-on-one with the Leeds 'keeper following more good work in the air by Parkinson, but the winger/attacker came out second-best with a low drive which was smothered well by the visiting custodian. In the same incident, the second-year scholar could even have gone to ground as he was clipped by a Leeds defender inside the box just as he was shaping to shoot, but instead he opted to stay on his feet and take the chance on.
Jack Goodman, previously with Notts County, soon had a shot blocked as he sought to get in-behind following a deft flick on which initially looked promosing and the frontman then had a well-struck drive saved following some clever midfield work by the technically-gifted Jack Raper, only a minute or two later.
Jak Whiting, who put in an impressive showing on the left side, then got in on the act when a neat-passing exchange culminated with him delivering an inviting low ball through the six-yard box which was begging for a connection that never materialised. The frustrated screams of annoyance afterwards was very much a nod to the fact another good opportunity hadn't been put away.
A bit closer towards the half-time whistle, Parkinson had an attempt comfortably enough gathered by the opposition 'keeper as the ebb and flow of the game alternated. Leeds were still having their bright moments and looking creative on the ball, but with no change to the scoreline.
Following some substitutions at the break from both teams, the begining of the second period coincided with a strong spell of pressure from the visitors as they sought to get back on level terms. They were denied on 49 minutes when Tom Chambers saved expertly with his feet in what was a gilt-edged opening after some sloppy positional defending led to the chance.
Michael Nesbitt and Bobby Faulkner both had to make blocks in the same attack as more pressure followed soon afterwards whilst there was a brief glimmer of hope that the scoreline would be extended up at the other end of the pitch when A.Trialist released Kuleya who burst away and beat the United 'keeper with a low attempt which then trickled agonisingly the wrong side of the post.
Nevertheless, undoubtedly the most concerning aspect at the start of the second half was the weather.
Grey foreboding clouds had been lingering for some time and around the hour mark, the heavens decided to open in truly cataclysmic style. First team management duo Richie Wellens and Noel Hunt, who'd been watching from the sidelines, retreated indoors whilst several spectators who were dotted along the perimeter fence opted to return to their vehicles until the storm had passed.
A few brave souls chose to brave it out including one stupid prat who was wearing just a t-shirt (otherwise known as myself) and, speaking first-hand, that really didn't seem like a bright idea when the rain turned into mint imperial sized hailstones or when there were crackles of thunder and flashes of lightning in the distance as well.
Even the Rovers substitutes had decided to take cover and huddled together under the trees and, unsurprisingly at the point, most people's attention was significantly distracted from what was unfolding on the pitch.
The hail showers eventually began to ease and Rovers by now had wrestled back control and were begining to make regular inroads with a couple of low balls being played either into dangerous areas and/or across the goalmouth, but a killer touch infront of goal was still lacking!
On the back of his impressive two-goal showing at Pinchbeck, A.Trialist (sporting his bright boots) had been introduced at half-time and he was the player who once again showed the predatory instincts inside the area to effectively put the result beyond doubt on 75 minutes - receiving a pass from a team-mate before hammering home a shot from what appeared to be a difficult angle which clipped the underside of the crossbar on its way into the net.
With the game safe, Rovers continued to create more openings. Striker Alex Wolny (I think) wasn't quite able to dig the ball out from under his feet in time to beat the 'keeper in one promising move whilst plenty of good possession in good territorial areas unfortunately came to nothing.
In a seperate incident towards the dying embers of the game, a player from each team was cautioned following a silly, needless incident where a Leeds player tackled Tom Henson far harder than was necessary on the byline and it sparked a mini-melee that was promptly dealt with by the referee.
Other than the ridiculous soaking wet weather, if there was one dampener from an otherwise encouraging performance, it occured with pretty much the last kick of the game as Leeds ruined Rovers' clean-sheet and salvaged some pride with a consolation goal.
The Whites' two best players were their right-back and No.10 and it was the forward who got on the score-sheet. Opposition play in the Rovers' half was too easily allowed and the lack of ruthlessness proved costly as a low ball into the box found the marksman who was able to turn swiftly and slot an accurate effort past a rooted-to-the-spot Chambers. There wasn't anything the first-year 'keeper could do to prevent the goal itself, but it was still a poor one to concede from a team perspective (it could have been prevented by others being tighter and more alert) and it did spoil what would have otherwise been a hard-fought and merited second clean-sheet of pre-season.
Overall, whilst I won't have got everything right in this post - mainly due to the fact that doing any kind of report/analysis from a low vantage point behind the goal is always very challenging, it is clear that this team is a different animal to the one that meandered towards mediocrity in the latter stages of last season.
It's evident already that the first-year crop are 'on it' and keen, eager, hungry and determined to impress and the morale within the collective group is really good. There are players with good potential and it's been easy to pick up on the vibrancy and a freshness about things. The lads have achieved two good results to date, played some neat and tidy football in parts and have done well enough up to this point and there is a genuine reason to believe there is more to come.
As expected, not everything was perfect within their display. Individual positional play needs to improve in some areas - analysing the goal and one or two other chances will point to that, whilst the out of possession work and structure is something that is probably going to be worked on over a longer period. Aerial battles were also sometimes lost a bit too easily for my liking (which can further increase the pressure dependent on where it happens), and obviously if just one or two of the missed chances had been put away, the scoreline could have been much greater than it actually was. So whilst it's good so far, there is a need to be even more ruthless!
With all things taken into consideration, the early signs are still promising though. The team has an identity and a set style about it, the fitness levels seem to be decent and there is a good set of lads who have a good spirit which has been shown in a few different ways (whether that be the ruckus late on when two bookings happened, the way the team and some individuals dealt with the 'intimidatory' tactics from a few players in the previous game, or the bonding off the pitch). Performances can still get better and things are never, ever in a million years going to be perfect in youth football but it's not a bad overall point to be at already in what is a very early stage of a big picture.
The ultimate test of everyone's credentials will be when the new league campaign begins on Saturday 7th August. Lincoln City, the opening day opponents, have won all four of their pre-season games up to now and appear as if they'll be one of the stronger teams in the division this term - so it will be a challenging contest albeit an absolutely perfect one.
I won't be at the third pre-season game away to Newcastle United on Saturday because I'll be at Rossington Main for their Northern Counties East League (Division One) season opener against Ollerton Town instead - finding out whether the 'banter level' of one of my old mates who has just signed for the opposition has improved in the past few years!
However, the one word I'll use to finish this post and describe my thoughts on this performance:
Satisfying!
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