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

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

Professional Development League Cup

Saturday 8th October 2022

After last week’s hammering at Harrogate Town, this performance was miles better from Doncaster Rovers U18s as they earned a valuable point in the PDL Cup (Group Stage) with a 0-0 draw at Lincoln City.

In a game of not many clear-cut chances but one which was very high on both physical and mental work-rate for players on both sides, Rovers can take pride from their collective efforts as they stopped Lincoln (who are currently the top scoring Category 3 team anywhere in England) from finding the back of the net in a game for the first time this term; thus also registering their fourth clean-sheet of the campaign in the process. 

It was a big improvement on the shambles at Harrogate and amongst some good individual displays all round, Charlie Petch dealt with the Imps’ height advantage admirably - heading away absolutely everything when he needed to and also by producing a great last-ditch tackle in the first half, whilst Josh Lindley covered plenty of ground and man-marked ‘danger man’ Julian Donnery out of the game for the large part.

Match Report

On a bright yet breezy morning, Rovers settled the better of the two sides, had more territory and possession and generally looked the stronger team during the first half with the exception of a five-minute spell (between 35 and 40 minutes).

They created the first opening as Jack Goodman’s eighth-minute effort from the edge of the box was tipped round the post by Lincoln ‘keeper Sam Green, only for a goal-kick to wrongly be awarded - although that was inadvertently 'levelled up' later in the game when the referee gave Rovers a goal-kick in the closing stages when the Imps should have had a definite corner as well.

Rovers remained on the front foot, nonetheless, and a sustained spell of pressure on the quarter-hour mark should have resulted in a breakthrough.

Firstly, Tom Parkinson saw his left-foot free-kick into the area tipped over. From the resulting corner then came a glorious opportunity as Faris Khan’s teasing delivery towards the edge of the six-yard box bounced up for Flint who made a connection but the ball deflected just wide off the body of a Lincoln defender who didn’t know a great deal about it. It was a golden chance! 

Green then claimed a curling effort by Parkinson in the second wave of play from the next corner.

Rovers were forced to make a substitution close to the half-hour mark as Max Adamson had sustained a dead leg and needed to be replaced by Owen Scattergood, but chances remained at a premium as both teams nullified the threat of one another to a very, very large extent.

It took Lincoln, who had been forced back up to now, until the 36th minute to properly string a decent move together and it might have ended differently had it not been for Petch’s intervention.

It began when Nathan Kabeya spotted Tayo Tucker out wide and played a quality ball to him on the switch. Tucker then shared a quick one-two with Donnery and drove forward in possession before releasing a through ball to Russell Berko inside the box. He shaped himself and was just about to pull the trigger on a shot when Petch nipped in to make a crucial sliding interception at the expense of a corner. From that subsequent set-piece, Donnery or Harry Dale (not sure who) whipped a vicious inswinging ball right under the crossbar and it looked goalbound until Flint headed it off the line. 

Donnery then lashed a 20-yard shot just over the target a minute later, on the back of another corner.

Rovers responded with two half-chances of their own before the break and in both instances, it was courtesy of some troublesome balls by Jak Whiting.

The first from the Rovers skipper was a clipped one over the top which found Goodman but, under pressure from a defender closing him down and with an ever-narrowing angle, the odds always looked against the striker and he could only fire into the side-netting. A good cross from the left just a minute later (after an initial good cross by Parkinson was only partially cleared) was then headed over Goodman.

Still 0-0 by the break, it wasn’t too surprising that Lincoln came out for the second half with more of a purpose, more of an attacking intent and just more of an ‘oomph’ altogether. 

Only three minutes after the re-start they went close as Kyrell Wheatley’s deep run and eventual cross from the byline reached Donnery who was lurking on the edge of the area. His cushioned side-foot effort bounced narrowly wide with Rovers ‘keeper Jake Oram at full-stretch.

The Imps were visibly building up a head of steam. There was a better intensity about their play and as the hour mark approached, they were the team on top; enjoying more possession and gaining territory, but like Rovers in the first half, they weren’t able to convert that into multiple clear-cut chances.

Instead, the next opportunity was down at the other end on 65 minutes when Goodman’s low free-kick was initially fumbled by Green who quickly pulled the loose ball into his grasp at precisely the same time as Whiting slid in hard trying to connect. The Rovers player only succeeded in clattering the ‘keeper, and he duly received a yellow card.

After Wheatley was also cautioned, momentum then swung back and forth during the latter stages. Lincoln made a change as Bailey Adamson was introduced whereas Rovers opted not to shuffle their pack and instead stick with the team that was already on the pitch. 

Despite the goalless scoreline, the intensity and desire on show from both teams (plus some visibly tiring bodies) meant it was still compelling to watch and the final 10 minutes saw openings at both ends.

Firstly, Oram produced two decent saves in quick succession to keep Rovers on level terms as he got down well to keep out a low and stooping header by Lincoln’s No.5, before then tipping wide an effort by Donnery only two minutes later, after the Imps star-man was able to unleash a vicious near-post drive from just inside the box. It was Lincoln’s best chance without doubt and from the resulting corner, the No.5 this time put a side-foot shot narrowly wide.

Rovers were living a bit dangerously, however, they too could have still won the game late on - especially when Khan was presented with a golden chance in the 88th minute as a weak headed clearance by Lincoln’s No.6 fell straight into his path but his quick snap-shot was comfortably kept out by Green.

Right at the end of three minutes of injury-time and with the final whistle imminent, there were more nervous moments for the Lincoln backline as Kabeya conceded a cheap free-kick in a deep and dangerous wide position in line with 18-yard box. Everyone packed into the box but there were to be no last-gasp heroics as the subsequent cross was well-defended, the ball being cleared and the final whistle then sounding, which ensured both teams settled for a point apiece.

Lincoln: Awaiting the team-sheet.

Doncaster: Jake Oram, Alex Fletcher, Will Flint, Charlie Petch, Jak Whiting, Tom Parkinson, Josh Lindley, Faris Khan, Jack Raper, Jack Goodman, Max Adamson (Owen Scattergood).

Overall Reflections

At first glance, some people might view this scoreline and look at the distinct lack of clear-cut chances and just assume this game wasn’t that entertaining. 

However, both sets of players worked very hard to achieve the result - it was end-to-end albeit not frenetic in the latter stages (it certainly wasn’t a boring game drifting towards a stalemate), two good teams were on show, there was a good intensity and tempo about the play, and quite a few players on both teams. Some of those who are usually the fittest were visibly knackered by full-time and that ought to highlight both the mental and physical effort and energy that they all put in.

Rovers performed much more cohesively than last week and looked far more balanced and organised - partly, I think, down to the lads feeling shell-shocked themselves at just how poor they were at Harrogate, partly down to knowing they couldn’t afford to be sloppy in this game against a very good team, and partly down to Jack Raper also returning to the line-up and adding a lot of balance. The ball retention was miles better than last week and it wasn’t given away anywhere near as cheaply. That was significant.

The back three were back to their usual high standards and their best contributions are all mentioned in the report above. Jake Oram (who missed the defeat at Harrogate) still hasn’t conceded a goal yet from open play this season - a run now stretching at 10 hours 30 minutes and that deserves a mention. He made some good saves too. Both wing-backs, Alex Fletcher and Tom Parkinson, put in a shift and will have comfortably racked up big distances, Josh Lindley did an excellent job in the No.4 role pretty much man-marking Julian Donnery (more on him below), whilst Faris Khan kept Harry Dale very quiet, so that was another good contribution.

Jack Goodman tried his best on a difficult day for him in many ways because as, dogged and good as Rovers were in other areas, they couldn’t quite get the final through ball correct - hence the lack of proper goalscoring opportunities for him. Max Adamson got a knock really early in the game, then another and ultimately needed treatment before he had to be replaced so he wasn’t able to make an impact as such. However, when Owen Scattergood came on, he put in what I thought was one of his best displays of the season up to now (including an excellent first touch and release in a ‘dropping back to receive the ball’ move just before half-time). That didn’t go unnoticed and he can take a lot of confidence because it’s a good step in the right direction after a tough start to the season for him. He will come good and I don't ever doubt my judgements.

Rovers probably didn't press the Lincoln defence intensely enough to force errors that might have won them the game. Given the amount they've conceded, it's certainly where the Imps are most vulnerable but, that said, the positives still very much outweigh any negatives from this game.

As for Lincoln, they're a good team and that is undeniable. They should be title contenders in the North-East Youth Alliance this season and, if they sort their defence out on a consistent basis and stop shipping goals to the extent which they have been, they will be title contenders.

What was evident from this game is Julian Donnery is so much more effective out wide and in an attacking role than he is in a midfield position. He still got into some dangerous areas during the course of the game (hence why he nearly scored twice from open play) but in the first half, in part due to the job which Josh Lindley did in man-marking him and also, in part due to the position where he was playing, the Imps weren’t really able to involve him in their play too much. His threat was nullified and he got better in the second half (as did Lincoln as a whole), albeit not to the extent where he could destroy the opposition - something which he’s done so many times already this season. His record speaks for itself in having scored 12 times already this year, plus being directly involved in over 50% of the team’s goals, and it proves he's 'backed up' the excellent performance that I watched previously at Bradford in other games as well.

His quality is there and I suspect that considering this was just a cup fixture (so possibly a chance to experiment with players/personnel without it impacting on the league which is more important), he might be figuring in an attacking role when the two teams meet in the league on Saturday 12th November.

A few other things I noticed from Lincoln’s team was Oisin Gallagher who sprayed a few decent passes about and was alright; it was enough to make me want to see more in the future. Tayo Tucker worked hard and tried to make things happen offering a bit of creativity - it didn’t go unnoticed and the best of his involvement was the move where he played it through to Russell Berko just before half-time. The effectiveness of the two wing-backs who pushed up well and posed a significant threat was decent. Kyrell Wheatley was alright out wide and there's more to come from him at some point.

I also didn’t mind Sam Green ‘mixing it up’ by going long a few times in the latter stages of the game - it nearly paid off in one particular instance whilst the defence as a whole will be happy to have kept a clean-sheet against a Rovers team who should also be in and amongst the pack of 4/5 genuine title contenders.

The other result in this group saw Barnsley hammer Hull City and earn a 5-2 win.

That result means the Tigers have conceded a double-figure amount in two games and are eliminated from the competition with a game to spare (some going). Unless Lincoln beat Hull by five goals or more in the final group fixture in November which could quite feasibly happen, then Rovers will win the group as long as they avoid defeat at Barnsley. Both fixtures are provisionally scheduled for Saturday 5th November and everyone ought to remember that date!

Other results this weekend:

LGE: Grimsby 4-1 Mansfield (two for Harvey Tomlinson; two for Will Hodgson).

CUP: Bradford 2-5 Huddersfield (surprising score).

As far as I'm aware, the FA Youth Cup First Round draw takes place this FRIDAY at about 1.00pm.

It's regionalised on a North/South basis (albeit 'the north' has a geographical span from Cumbria to the Midlands) and the Final Qualifying Round ties take place this coming week.