Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Stevenage

Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Stevenage

Sky Bet League Two

Tuesday 25th October 2022

If Doncaster Rovers harbour aspirations of being promoted from League Two at any point soon, they could do a lot worse than have a good look at how Stevenage managed to win this game at the Eco-Power Stadium.

Rovers were actually the better team for two-thirds of it; enjoying more possession and territory but they weren’t able to turn that dominance into a goal. They put a number of decent balls into the box, looked dangerous on the flanks with Kyle Knoyle putting in an excellent display and even Luke Molyneux looking good for a change, and they had Stevenage ‘penned in’ for long periods.

However, the only goal of the night still came up at the other end as Jordan Roberts capitalised on some shoddy defending on 25 minutes to head home what turned out to be the winning goal.

The defences, ultimately, were the biggest difference.

Rovers’ back three always looked susceptible to making an error whether it be via Ro-Shaun Williams (who has long since developed a reputation for being error prone and a bit clumsy), Tom Anderson (who was guilty of playing some hospital balls at times - including one which forced Ben Close into a heavy and hurried backpass to his ‘keeper) or Adam Long (who hasn’t had the best of starts to life at DRFC anyway).

I can’t recall the last time they kept a clean-sheet either, so compare and contrast that to Stevenage because Boro’s defenders threw themselves infront of shots on at least half a dozen occasions to deny Rovers an equaliser. As a unit they were rock solid, unbreakable and it was such a strong defensive showing. Dan Sweeney was a man mountain - even taking a shot at full pelt in the face at one point, such was the bravery on show. When they chose to ‘shut up shop’ late on as Carl Piergianni replaced Danny Rose, the experienced substitute won everything in the air and didn’t allow Kieran Agard an inch of space either. They worked relentlessly to keep a hard-earned clean-sheet.

Stevenage’s gamesmanship in running the clock down and ‘stifling things’ began at least half-an-hour before the full-time whistle, if not longer. It was blatant, it was obvious, and it turned out to be excellent game-management on their part. I’ve got no doubt whatsoever that Steve Evans, serving a one-game touchline ban but sat up in the stands and on the phone to his coaching staff throughout the game, will have been delighted with the characteristics his players showed. 

Yes, they rode their luck, but it’s victories such as this one (where they were required to be resilient and produce something close to a ‘backs to the wall’ performance) which might turn out to be massive come the end of the season - especially if they’re up challenging for promotion. 

A strong, solid and organised defence wins you promotion at this level and they’ve certainly got one, hence why they’ve also got one of the strongest defences in the division as well.

Rovers, under new manager Danny Schofield, will no doubt choose to focus on the positives - and given the display there’s certainly plenty of them to be had. On the flip side, however, there’s still plenty of visible weaknesses (e.g. the two minutes of football leading up to the goal) and I harbour reservations about exactly what anyone can achieve with this current crop of players. After all, some of them have already got one manager sacked this season!

Schofield will need patience, understanding from fans (a big problem at DRFC recently), backing from the board (another problem when the owner is tighter than a crab’s arse) and maybe even as many as three transfer windows to shape the squad exactly how he wants it.

If he is sacked in 12 months time - just as Gary McSheffrey was, the exact same thing is only going to apply to his successor and so on. Therefore, at some point, somewhere, that cycle will have to change and fans will have to buy into a long-term project whilst the board, if they genuinely want success, owe it to whoever the manager is to provide the best resources for a promotion push. 

If none of that happens, the club will only serve to earn a reputation as a basket case - at which point the exit route from League Two might be the one pointing towards the National League!

The position Rovers are in right now has similarities to the one which Mansfield found themselves in a few years ago, prior to appointing Nigel Clough and, fast-approaching two years to the day into his reign, the Stags look well on course to finally climb into League One after a full decade in the fourth tier.

There’s a lesson to be learned there, just like there’s a lesson to be learned from Stevenage’s tremendous defensive showing which saw them return to Hertfordshire with three points!