Doncaster Rovers (U18s) 3-1 Scunthorpe United (U18s)

Doncaster Rovers (U18s) 3-1 Scunthorpe United (U18s)

EFL Youth Alliance

Saturday 24th September 2022

Two substitutions changed the course of this game as Doncaster Rovers scored three goals in the last quarter-of-an-hour to beat a decent Scunthorpe United outfit at Cantley Park.

Despite of the scoreline, it wasn't actually a great performance by DRFC.

Scunny were the better side for the first 75 minutes; they won the midfield battle and were difficult to break down - although they didn't muster up too much infront of goal either as Rovers' backline (who still haven't conceded a goal from open play this term) once again defended in an organised manner.

A stalemate looked inevitable until Max Adamson broke the deadlock when he latched onto a through ball, shrugged off a defender and finished in emphatic style.

Charlie Petch's glancing header from Will Green's set-piece soon made it 2-0, but any hopes that the visitors would just throw the towel in were unfounded and Harrison Poulter reduced arrears from the penalty spot to set up a tense final eight minutes.

However, Rovers settled things once and for all in the 86th minute; Jack Goodman tapping home from close-range to ensure three points which moves the lads back to the top of the North-East Youth Alliance table on goal difference ahead of Grimsby (who drew with Bradford) and Lincoln (who beat Huddersfield).

Also, by extending their unbeaten run to a sixth game, the result means this is the best start to a season by a Rovers U18s team since 2012/13 when the crop that included Harry Middleton, Mitchell Lund, Josh Meade and Lewis Ferguson, etc, went 10 games unbeaten from August until November.

Match Report

After last week’s win at Burton Albion which sent them top of the table for 24 hours, Rovers were full of confidence going into this game against opponents they did the 'double' over last year. 

Two changes to the starting line-up as Owen Scattergood was handed his first start of the season; preferred to Max Adamson in attack, whilst first-year Freddie Allen replaced Tom Parkinson at left-wing-back. Scunthorpe, meanwhile, were without first-year pro Harry Lewis who was red carded in last week's 5-1 hammering of Rotherham.

Wearing their all yellow away kit and after an evenly-contested and very uneventful first 15 minutes, it was the visitors who slowly began to play more searching balls and establish a stronger foothold.

Harrison Poulter, who spent time at DRFC in his academy days, looked eager and determined to prove a point - and he was involved in the game’s first big chance on 16 minutes when he cleverly dropped back just inside his own half and flicked the ball on for Tyrell Sellars-Fleming to run onto. His technique was equally as good as Poulter's as he weaved his way behind Jak Whiting and advanced into the box where he flashed a low effort across goal and wide of Rovers ‘keeper Jake Oram’s far post.

In their 4-4-2 formation, Scunthorpe continued to look brighter as the first half progressed.

Harry Elliott-Bell and Charley Strouther were good at full-back whilst Harvey Cribb and Josh Robertson complimented each other really well in midfield and won plenty of second balls. When they didn’t have possession, the Iron were happy to show some steel (easy pun to use) by maintaining their shape and just being difficult to break down. 

Rovers’ ball retention was loose at times anyway, and when they did have it, too often it was infront of Scunny or in their own half - making it really easy for the visitors to defend against. There wasn't that much which was either piercing or penetrative.

Just past the half-hour mark, Poulter forced a routine save out of Oram when he span away from Whiting on the edge of the box and hit a low drive goalwards and Strouther was also foiled when he tried his luck with a 25-yard free-kick which was on target albeit easy to save.

You couldn’t fault the Iron for their work-rate and they seemed to be the team who ‘wanted it’ more but they did look susceptible when Rovers could get the ball down and run at them. Allen showed good attacking intent on the left-hand side to twice beat his man with neat and tidy runs, and an opening was almost carved out down the right flank when Alex Fletcher brilliantly broke forward and worked his way into the box, only to see his intended cut-back from the byline intercepted.

Will Flint almost struck a pigeon in one of the trees with a speculative shot five minutes before half-time and, it sort of summed things up that as the first period drew to a close, Rovers still hadn’t forced a save from Iron ‘keeper Ewan Oxborough.

So it remained 0-0.

Scunny would have undoubtedly been much the happier team at this point and, for a large chunk of time after the re-start, there was a similar pattern to the game although Rovers looked even sturdier defensively which meant a 0-0 was starting to look quite possible.

It took until 64 minutes for another opening as Sellars-Fleming connected in acrobatic style to a cross although his attempt drifted harmlessly wide. Three minutes later, Elliott-Bell got a header on target following an excellent run and deep back-post cross by Robertson although Oram gathered the ball quite comfortably.

Rovers had started to play a few longer balls to see if they could find an opening, but each time they did, Finn Abraham and others in the Iron backline dealt with the danger efficiently. Abraham won all his headers and the Iron skipper (I think it was him; if not I've made him sound good) also produced a well-timed last-ditch challenge inside his own box to thwart Jack Goodman, just as he was about to unleash a shot, after Faris Khan worked the ball to him following a throw.

It was clear something needed to change and it was the substitutes who made the decisive impact.

Will Green replaced Allen at the same time Harry Wood came on for Jack Raper, then Max Adamson replaced Scattergood three minutes later, and it was Adamson who soon enhanced his reputation as he got the opener on 75 minutes.

In a goal not too dissimilar to his match-winner against Blackpool in the Youth Alliance Cup a month ago, Adamson latched onto Jack Goodman's flick on from a ball forward and in a one-on-one with a defender, used his strength to break away and get clean through. He maintained his composure and slammed his shot beyond the advancing ‘keeper and straight into the bottom corner. 1-0.

Scunthorpe looked deflated at this point because the goal was against the run of play. They had been the better team and, licking their wounds at having gone behind, they quickly conceded a corner from which they conceded again.

This time, another pinpoint set-piece by Green caused all the problems. His vicious in-swinger beyond the back-post area was knocked back across the six-yard box by Flint and Charlie Petch connected with the deftest of headers from just a couple of yards out to make it 2-0.

You might have thought at this point that the game was done and dusted but Scunny had other ideas.

Grayson Giles was hacked down by Harry Wood in a second ball challenge right on the edge of the box after a Scunny corner, and although Adamson bravely headed away Nat Wallace’s subsequent free-kick, Elliott-Bell managed to recycle play with a dangerous back-post ball where Fletcher clumsily collided with a stretching Robertson.

The referee pointed straight to the spot (and it was a penalty inmy opinion) and, despite a few appeals and protests, Poulter stepped up and hammered a left-footed attempt powerfully past Oram. 2-1.

With momentum now very much favouring the team in yellow, it looked as if a grandstand finish was on the cards. Rovers seemed happy to waste a few seconds whenever they could but with four minutes to go, Goodman restored the two-goal cushion.

In a move which went from back to front in seemingly no time whatsoever, Oram’s kick forward found Adamson on the right and he used his acceleration to weave his way inside. A dangerous ball was then played across the six-yard box and Wood helped it on for Goodman who was lurking in the right place at the right time for the simplest of finishes. 3-1.

Green and Oram both received yellow cards for minor bits of time-wasting in the dying few minutes and Rovers could have even scored again deep into injury-time when a low shot by Goodman clipped the post on its way wide.

The scoreline was harsh on Scunthorpe. They played well whereas Rovers (by their own standards) didn’t, yet the impact which the substitutes had was undeniable - and the three points means DRFC are now back at the top of the table.

Overall Thoughts

From a Rovers perspective, there were two things which I particularly liked.

Firstly, speaking to a few lads afterwards, they were happy to have got three points but they themselves weren’t thrilled by their overall performance. That’s an indirect sign of a good mentality because it smacks of high standards, striving to get even better and make the most of their ability.

I can think of a few other teams who might have just celebrated this result as a ‘win’ and then dined out on the result alone (forgetting the performance) but there’s not a chance of that happening with this crop!

Secondly, something which I liked even more, was the aggressive ‘shit-house’ edge which was very much apparent during the closing stages. At both 2-0 and 3-1, when balls were being cleared away, there were collective roars of ‘YESSSSSSS’ and mini-victories within passages of play being celebrated. The lads were completely behind each other and vocal with their encouragement. That style can rattle opponents but, beyond that, it proves there’s a strong togetherness with every player on the same page and buying into the same common goal.

Mansfield used to do this really well (and quite annoyingly when you were on the receiving end of it), in the era where they always used to compete for the North-East Youth Alliance title. I can draw plenty of similarities between the two teams so keep it going!

It also speaks volumes when a team doesn’t play well, by their own admission, and still gets a win - and a MASSIVE reason for that is down to the defensive back three (Jak Whiting, Charlie Petch and Will Flint) who’ve formed a strong understanding, look confident, and have played nearly every minute of every game together this season. That said, the ball retention in midfield needs to be better. It wasn’t great in the first 55-60 minutes at Burton; similar bits of sloppiness were on show again in this game and with some tough fixtures coming up in October, every player needs to perform well because the top teams in this league will punish any sign of weakness.

Individually, I thought Charlie Petch was excellent (and the mention of Mansfield above has got me thinking back to one of his first youth team games and just how much he's improved since then), whilst Will Flint produced his best performance for a few weeks. 

Freddie Allen still has some things to work on defensively and over time he'll get better, but in an attacking-sense he was good. He wasn’t afraid to get the ball down, be direct and use his pace to try and beat his man - particularly in the first half. It worked twice - including one point where he hurdled between two players and still kept possession to get to the edge of the area, and I liked that contribution.

Jack Goodman is working harder than ever before upfront. He’ll always score goals (because it’s what goalscorers do) but his closing down, pressing and that kind of work, has undoubtedly gone up a few notches over the past few weeks. I've seen that improvement with my own eyes, I've got a lot of respect for it, so keep it up!

The substitutes certainly helped to change the game and therefore, Max Adamson and Will Green deserve a fair amount of praise. 

Max scored one and got an assist (or secondary-assist if Harry Wood is trying to claim it), he got in behind the defence and posed a nuisance when he came on and he just now needs to carry that same threat when he next starts a game. If he does then my sympathies will go to the opposition defence! 

Meanwhile, Will’s set-pieces were sublime and the quality of them are up there with some of the best I've seen for a while. His second corner (which led to the goal) will probably be remembered more than his first which was a horrible inswinger right under the crossbar and down the throat of the 'keeper. He’s got a good turn of pace to go with his sweet left-foot and when he gets a consistent run in the team, if he replicates this form then he'll quickly get a good reputation. I've a lot of respect for how he played in his 20-25 minutes.

Scunthorpe deserve credit for how they performed though. 

For 75 minutes, they were the best team who played to their strengths and, personally, I enjoyed this game as it gave me the chance to learn more about their players and what they can do.

I’ve a new found respect for Harrison Poulter (No.10) and this was one of the best games I’ve seen him have. He dropped back on more than one occasion to link-up with others - just one example being the early chance when TSF flashed a shot across the face of goal. He worked hard against a strong defence, converted his penalty in a confident manner (and he deserved a goal for what he produced anyway), posed a sustained threat and looked sharp. It left a good impression.

Both full-backs were decent. Charley Strouther (No.3) was lively at times and was probably more consistent in terms of his deliveries than Harry Elliott-Bell (No.2) although I’ve liked HEB ever since I saw him last year. He was okay on the ball, got into some exploitative positions - both in and out of possession, showed a bit of pace and was vocal too. None of it went unnoticed. He played centre-back last year when I first saw him (and he impressed then) and I rate his qualities.

Elsewhere, Josh Robertson (No.8) stood out in the second half with how he drove forward in possession and got inside the box on a couple of occasions. He wasn’t afraid to make late runs and gamble on things either, which kind of paid off as he won the penalty. Harvey Cribb (No.4) slightly behind him in midfield also won a lot of second balls, offered that bit of maturity which comes through being exposed to a first team environment, and it was good to see what he could do.

Both Tyrell Sellars-Fleming (No.9) and Nat Wallace (No.7) were a nuisance at times with their movement and skill. It also says a lot about Finn Abraham (No.5) that he was handed the captain’s armband despite the fact he’s a first-year scholar and for a 20-minute spell in the second half, he was really good and won every header, whilst Grayson Giles (No.16) came on and helped to claw a goal back as he initially won the free-kick on the edge of the box. He also scored two goals in the other game involving the Under 16s on the adjacent pitch to underpin his reputation as one of the best strikers who’ll be entering the Youth Alliance over the next year.

Obviously Scunthorpe didn’t get the result, which will frustrate them, but they still ought to take a lot of positives from this performance along with their emphatic 5-1 win at Rotherham Rugby Club last week. They've got the dynamic of a half-decent team and, as I've said, I enjoyed watching them perform well because it’s always good to learn about different players and they left some good impressions.

I’ll be at the FA Youth Cup game at Pontefract on Thursday (which will be a bit different from the last time Scunny played in the same competition - to put it mildly!) and if they repeat this performance then I’d back them to take a step nearer to another night out at a Premier League stadium.

Rovers: Jake Oram, Will Flint, Charlie Petch, Jak Whiting (C), Alex Fletcher, Freddie Allen (Will Green), Josh Lindley (Justin Bennett), Faris Khan, Jack Raper (Harry Wood), Owen Scattergood (Max Adamson), Jack Goodman. Unused Subs: Tom Parkinson, Chris Pooley.

Other results this weekend...

Grimsby 2-2 Bradford; a topsy-turvy game where both teams led.

Lincoln 4-2 Huddersfield; just six goals in an Imps game this week but two more for Julian Donnery.

Mansfield 0-2 Harrogate; a result which reaffirms my belief that Harrogate are improving.

Hartlepool vs Rotherham; who knows?