Derby County 0-1 Doncaster Rovers (2008)

Derby County 0-1 Doncaster Rovers
Coca-Cola Championship
Saturday 9th August 2008

The calm before the storm at Pride Park (Photo: Unknown).

This was a landmark occasion - a day to be savoured for absolutely everyone associated with Doncaster Rovers, regardless of the result, as the club arrived in the Championship.

Having not played in the second tier for exactly 50 years, the dream of a return to that level was further away than it'd ever been before when John Ryan became owner in 1998, with Rovers having dropped into non-league football on the back of a shambolic relegation campaign.

The 1998/99 season saw trips to Dover, Leek and Farnborough as Rovers only just avoided what would have been another humiliating relegation. Fast-forward a decade and after arguably the greatest ever football transformation, trips to Wolves, Southampton and Norwich were instead on Rovers fans' agenda. It had been some journey and this was another champagne occasion.

Pride Park. Where a new era began for DRFC (Photo: Unknown).

Derby, on the other hand, were probably glad, if not relieved, to be back in the Championship themselves, having endured a torrid and torturous time in the Premier League in 2007/08 where they broke nearly every record going. The Rams picked up just 11 points, won just once all season, and regularly got smacked and slaughtered on the pitch - shipping 89 goals amidst tears, tantrums and a complete crisis of confidence. Under pressure from the day he took charge, Paul Jewell, who'd replaced Billy Davies as manager in the previous November, was still awaiting his first victory.

A capacity crowd of 33,000 poured into Pride Park for the season-opener with home fans expecting, hoping and probably even praying they could get a victory instead of extending their winless streak to 36 games in all competitions. For the 3,000 visiting fans, being at this level was a novelty.

Derby's starting line-up included a certain Paul Green, who'd been a key figure in Rovers' resurgence before penning a deal at Pride Park only a few days after the infamous League One Play-Off Final win over Leeds United. He featured alongside other well-known names such as Roy Carroll, Nathan Ellington and Kris Commons. Robbie Savage was on the substitutes bench. Every player in Donny's line-up had played in League One, the previous year.

Rovers fans turned out in great numbers (Photo: Unknown).

As 'Steve Bloomer's Watching' belted out of the Pride Park PA system at five to three and the teams walked out of the tunnel (this was a new regulation for 2008/09 along with a pre-match handshake) the entire away end, seated behind one of the goals', erupted with noise and released red and white balloons. It was a case of 'This is it. This is the Championship. It is happening' as the excitement, hope and realisation felt tangible in that very moment as the game got underway.

Lewis Guy was sometimes 'the fall guy' (in more ways than one) and when he went to ground under a challenge from Alan Stubbs, just infront of the goal where the Rovers fans were seated, there were cries for a spot-kick but nothing was given.

Generally, Rovers adapted themselves well - knocking the ball around in a neat and tidy fashion, whereas Derby struggled to create any serious rhythm within their play. All the Rams' best openings fell to Rob Hulse and there would have some serious controversy had his 'hand ball' effort from a cut-back found the net as opposed to ricocheting off the post. Referee Andy D'Urso and his assistants didn't notice it, even though everyone else in Pride Park seemed to!

Guy caused a plethora of problems with his pace, trickery and movement and hooked a shot straight at Carroll in Rovers' next attack, before Hulse got on the end of another right-sided ball and connected, this time with his feet, but his powerful shot only rippled the outside of the net. Some Derby fans were on their feet in celebration, nevertheless, until they realised it was still 0-0.

Gareth Taylor, who'd earlier gone close with a shot from the edge of the area, then almost opened the scoring just a few minutes before the half-time break when his header forced Caroll to scramble across his goal-line and tip the ball wide. It was close, but still no cigar.

Derby introduced everyone's favourite football villain, Robbie 'Lily' Savage, at half-time as he replaced Przemysław Kaźmierczak whose name would probably contribute more in a game of Scrabble than he ever did in a Rams shirt.

However, it was still Rovers dictating the play with Guy (now wearing an unnumbered shirt) remaining the chief tormentor, and just after the hour-mark he scored what would prove to be the all-important goal. Following a quick free-kick and a clever 'dummy' by James Hayter, which fooled a defender, Guy was in a perfect position inside the box to tuck a shot past Carroll and send the 3,000 travelling fans down at the other end of the pitch absolutely delirious!

Incredibly, he could have made it 2-0 not long afterwards when Richie Wellens' left-sided ball was knocked to him by Taylor, thus allowing the youngster to unleash a powerful drive which stung the palms of Carroll's goalie gloves.

Derby were all over the place by this point. They looked rattled, disjointed and struggled to string two meaningful passes together as the game edged towards its finale. Unrest and fury was growing amongst the home fans watching on and proof of their frustration was evident when Brian Stock was penalised for a foul on Savage, who wanted an advantage to be played, only for the referee to bring it back and award a free-kick.

Pride Park was packed (Photo: Unknown).

The six minutes of injury-time at the end of the game seemed excessive and the closest the Rams came to an equaliser during that period was when Martin Albrechtsen hooked a shot over Neil Sullivan's goal after a free-kick into the danger zone caused something of a scramble.

It looked as if the home fans, or at least those who hadn't left early in disgust, were resigned to an opening day defeat. Paul Jewell cut a forlorn figure on the touchline and the final whistle was met by a chorus of boos, jeers and insults from the home crowd. In stark contrast, Rovers' travelling army of 3,000 were singing, cheering and applauded their heroes off with the afternoon on the whole being a case of 'job well done'.

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Doncaster Rovers (2011)

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Doncaster Rovers
Npower Championship
Saturday 6th August 2011

The opening day scenes inside the Amex Stadium (Photo: Unknown)

This was the first competitive game at the Amex Stadium and it was a cracker as a sell-out crowd saw controversy, excitement, tension and a dramatic injury-time winner.

Brighton's journey towards this landmark occasion began some 14 years earlier when they were evicted from their old Goldstone Ground and only avoided relegation from the Football League thanks to a 1-0 final day victory over Doncaster Rovers.

A two-year ground-sharing arrangement at Gillingham's Priestfield Stadium (some 60 miles away) followed, before they moved back to Brighton - albeit to the somewhat ramshackle Withdean Stadium which was to be their home for the next 12 years as red tape, local politics and environmental issues elongated the process of building a new ground.

On the pitch, the previous campaign, 2010/11, saw Brighton romp to the League One title under Gus Poyet's stewardship, amassing just shy of 100 points, so they were very much an 'up and coming' force to be reckoned with who were expected to do well on their return Championship.

Doncaster's journey to success, meanwhile, had been just as eventful as the Seagulls' story.

Relegated to non-league with one of the worst ever records in 1998 amidst protests and scandals surrounding Ken Richardson's ownership, John Ryan's takeover signalled a change, though it took five years before a return to the Football League was sealed as Rovers beat Dagenham & Redbridge in the inaugural Conference Play-Off Final.

More success on the pitch followed and Belle Vue was replaced with the Keepmoat Stadium midway through the 2006/07 campaign, before the club then climbed into the Championship - famously defeating Leeds United at Wembley in the 2008 League One Play-Off Final. Despite an initial struggle, Sean O'Driscoll's team eventually got to grips with the second tier and 2011/12 would be their fourth successive season at this level.

A stadium worthy of waiting so long for (Photo: Unknown).

Unsurprisingly, given all the off-field issues which had dogged the two clubs' fortunes during roughly the same era in the late 1990s, there was a genuine bond between the two sets of supporters and nobody was displeased when the fixture computer, as if by magic, chose this game for the opening day of the new season!

Whilst there was a feverish sense of excitement amongst Brighton's supporters, Rovers fans were much more cautious as they'd seen their team struggle in the second part of 2010/11 - enduring a torrid run of just one win in 18 matches which meant they only just avoided relegation.

An injury crisis stretching back several months, which was still ongoing, meant several players missed this fixture. It hardly helped Rovers' fortunes, therefore Brighton were very much favourites to bag the three points.

The trip down to the South Coast was every bit as troublesome as anticipated. The M25 was navigated successfully, on the whole, but with less than an hour to go until kick-off, many who'd travelled on the Supporters' Buses were stuck in stationery traffic; there'd been an accident on the outskirts of Brighton and, even when it did get moving, it wasn't particularly fast.

Muggy temperatures didn't help the mood but, nevertheless, everyone arrived in time to soak up just a bit of the pre-match atmosphere. Rovers' fans were greeted by a sea of blue and white once they'd gone through the turnstiles and into the stands as Brighton's hierarchy had given away free flags to their own supporters to mark the event. In contrast, the away end wasn't full - one or two blocks seemed empty (a theory backed up after seeing TV footage afterwards) and there was space to jostle about, sit with your mates as opposed to strictly in an allocated seat, and make the experience more enjoyable.

The 'rich and famous' (or something like that) all turned out as well. Des Lynam was in attendance, Fatboy Slim might have been around somewhere, whilst the BBC selected this as their main game on the Football League Show with Dan Walker and Robbie Savage present.

At five to three, amidst a carnivalesque atmosphere with home fans waving their flags in a frenzy, a loud, rousing rendition of 'Sussex By The Sea' played out over the PA system as the two teams entered the pitch. This was the moment. This was the time. This was it; Brighton had their identity back and were performing in the outstanding stadium which they'd craved for so long.

All that was needed now was the home win to mark the event.

However, like any good party poopers, Rovers had other ideas and instead went within a whisker of bagging the opener when Billy Sharp blazed over from the edge of the six-yard box having done most of the hard work in getting onto James Coppinger's low cross.

It was always going to be a day of high passion (and even tension) so having Eddie Ilderton as referee probably wasn't the wisest decision that the Football League could have made. He was called into action for the first time when Tommy Spurr made a late challenge on a Brighton player, just infront of the dugouts, and received a warranted yellow card.

Gus Poyet though was displeased and the Uruguayan's fury intensified only a minute or so later when Kazenga Lua-Lua was bundled to the floor, just inside Rovers' penalty area. No penalty was forthcoming and, after some choice words and lots of gesticulating, Ilderton probably took great delight in strutting over to the touchline and sending Brighton's manager to the stand.

Poyet's mood wouldn't have been helped when he was told he was sitting too close to the pitch and ordered to move, or when Ashley Barnes breached Rovers' offside trap and found himself in a glorious position to score - beating Gary Woods with his low shot, only to see the ball hooked off the line George Friend who had scampered back in the nick of time.

Richard Naylor was then booked for another ill-timed tackle, despite pleas from a fervent home crowd who wanted a red card, but a massive spanner soon got thrown into the hosts' plans which threatened to ruin their afternoon completely, as Sharp scored the first competitive goal at the Amex Stadium.

Ryan Mason, on loan at Rovers from Tottenham, won possession in the centre circle and embarked on a driving run with his intended shot deflecting into Sharp's path and the talisman was able to squirm an effort past Casper Ankergren and over the line. It wasn't pretty, by any means, but it didn't matter - Rovers had a 1-0 lead at half-time, whilst Brighton had a hell of a lot of work to do!

Ankergren, part of the Leeds team beaten by Rovers in the League One Play-Off Final three years previously, copped for plenty of stick from the visiting fans who were now located directly behind him, as he took up position at the start of the second half; having a wry smile at some of the comments.

Though Brighton's players, fans and management alike had been upset by one or two incidents during the first 45 minutes, it was soon the turn of Rovers to be irate after Lewis Dunk's clumsy (and perhaps stupid) tackle from behind on Sharp, close to the hour mark, resulted in the frontman having to leave the pitch on a stretcher.

He missed the next two months but, in the 'here and now' of the game, it was a major turning point which swung the pendulum firmly in Brighton's favour.

Nevertheless, the Seagulls seemed intent on making life as difficult as possible for themselves with Craig Noone squandering a golden chance to level when he latched on to Barnes' clever flick on from Matt Sparrow's intricate through pass, only to put his shot wide when most people inside the stadium were just waiting for the net to ripple.

Where one substitute failed, another succeeded though as Will Buckley came off the bench and proved to be the opening day hero for Albion - emphatically slamming the ball home for an equaliser with less than 10 minutes to go, after Liam Bridcutt's free-kick into the area wasn't properly cleared away by the Rovers defence.

Unsurprisingly, the closing stages were action packed and full of drama, tension and excitement as Craig Mackail-Smith (at the time, Brighton's record signing for £2.5M) went close with an audacious volley that was well held by Woods, whilst James Hayter got injured up at the other end (and had to be stretchered off as well) as he scrambled to get onto the end of John Oster's corner. It meant there was a whole heap more of added time; 11 minutes to be precise, and also that Rovers had to play it out with just 10 men as they'd already made all their substitutions.

As nervous and agonising as it was for Rovers fans - desperately hoping they'd be able to cling onto a point, their Brighton counterparts raised the volume as they believed a winner was possible and it came in the most dramatic of circumstances as Noone fed Buckley during a dramatic breakaway attack, who finished with aplomb in the eighth minute of injury-time.

It was a goal which broke away fans hearts but sparked wild celebrations in the home end - the differing emotions couldn't have contrasted greater.

As Fatboy Slim's 'Praise You' played out over the PA system at the final whistle, Rovers fans were pondering what might have been and what would be in the future - given the already-apparent injury crisis, which had now been further added to.

It proved to be a tumultuous campaign as Doncaster slumped to relegation amidst the type of controversy which hadn't been seen since the 1997/98 season as Willie McKay's notorious 'experiment' failed to pay dividends after Sean O'Driscoll was ridiculously sacked.

There are some fans who still despise Lewis Dunk for that challenge in this game - yes, it was poor, but he young, inexperienced at the time and it happens! It contributed to Rovers' relegation, along with many other things, but it certainly wasn't the root cause.

Brighton went on to claim an upper mid-table finish in 2011/12, just a few places off the play-offs, and it's come as no surprise that they've gone from strength to strength in the years since and turned from a 'sleeping giant' into an established Premier League team.

This game, however, will always live long in the memory for fans of both clubs!

Farewell, York Street!

York Street, Boston United - the place where a certain Steve Evans carved out his reputation (in more ways than one) and a former Football League venue which will host it's final game this weekend as the Pilgrims entertain Altrincham in the National League North Play-Off Final.

Although Boston fans will have their own special memories of the ground, it's somewhere that will also be remembered fondly by Doncaster Rovers supporters, too, as it was where they celebrated becoming Division Three Champions in May 2004.

The game wasn't a classic, far from it, but the sterile 0-0 draw was enough to earn silverware ahead of big spending Hull City, and make it back-to-back promotions.

My abiding memories of the day were talking to several Rovers fans who'd bought tickets in the home sections because the away end sold out within a matter of hours of going on sale. On the pitch, after the 'Guard Of Honour' provided by Evans and his team in respect for Rovers' achievements, there was a minutes silence, before Tim Ryan was left sporting a bandaged head following an aerial collision with an opponent. It was nervy and tense in the closing stages as it became apparent that a point would be enough to secure the title, but the full-time whistle sparked the celebrations.

My only other visit to York Street was an FA Cup Second Round tie in December 2005; a clash which saw Dave Mulligan score two free-kicks to put DRFC into the Third Round and earn himself the 'Player of the Round' accolade. Sadly, despite my extensive efforts in trying to unearth it, footage of that game is yet to emerge.

Rovers did also play their twice in the Nationwide Conference in the early 2000s - including a 2-2 draw only a few days before the 9/11 terrorist atrocities, in a game which saw Daryl Clare score twice in injury-time to snatch the Pilgrims a point from seemingly nowhere.

So farewell, York Street, and here are photos and press clippings which I've cobbled together from that memorable title-clinching day, 16 years ago...

A montage from the day!

Report of the 0-0 draw which featured in the following week's programme.

Andy Warrington makes a save (Photo: Unknown).

A young Paul Green and John McGrath celebrate (Photo: Unknown).

Bandaged up but battling on (Photo: Unknown).

Tim Ryan goes for a long shot before his head was bandaged.

Micky Walker and Mark Albrighton take in the great occasion! (Photo: Unknown).

Fist pumps for the triumph! (Photo: Unknown).

Champions! (Photo: Unknown).

Dave Penney poses for the camera with an open champagne bottle (Photo: Unknown).

Harrogate Town 2-2 Sutton United (2018)

Harrogate Town 2-2 Sutton United
Vanarama National League
Saturday 4th August 2018

The first time I watched Harrogate Town, they got battered 5-0 at Droylsden in September 2009 and, by the end of that season, only problems elsewhere at other clubs stopped them from being relegated from the Conference North.

A year later, when I next saw them in action, they were comfortably dispatched again - this time suffering a 3-0 reverse on home soil to AFC Telford United in the FA Trophy.

Only in the 2012/13 campaign did I see them win a game for the first time and even that was in somewhat unusual circumstances as they cruised to a 6-1 'home' success over Corby Town at the Keepmoat Stadium (some 40 miles from Harrogate) which hosted the game due to the Wetherby Road pitch being severely affected by the harsh winter. All the goals came in the second half and the attendance that night was just 99!

Fast-forward just over five more years to August 2018 and, as well as having changed their club crest and built a new terrace at Wetherby Road (stood on for the first time when Leeds United visited in a pre-season friendly in July 2015 - another game which I saw), and Harrogate's fortunes on the pitch had also changed remarkably. They'd just won promotion to non-league's top tier for the first time having beaten Brackley Town in the National League North Play-Off Final, and a big crowd was expected for their season-opener against Sutton United.

Ahead of the game I remember checking their fan forums to get a general consensus of the mood and expectations around the club and there were mixed views. Some fans were cautious and expected a tough campaign partly due to the fact other local teams such as Halifax, York, Guiseley and North Ferriby had all suffered relegation from the same division in the previous few years. Others were more optimistic and believed mid-table consolidation was entirely possible and there were also the 'eternal optimists' who thought that the 4G playing surface might help them get further up the table.

What probably nobody expected, however, was that almost two years to the day (and at the time of writing) Harrogate would be preparing for a Play-Off Final against Notts County in the knowledge that a win will take them up to the Football League.

Anyway, I'd booked tickets online a few days beforehand and was very much looking forward to the game with Sutton who themselves had proven to be 'decent fodder' in the National League over the previous couple of years. Unfortunately though perhaps unsurprisingly, by the time I arrived just after 2.00pm, match programmes had already sold-out.

Harrogate had a decent squad at the time including some players with Doncaster connections such as Joe Leesley and Callum Howe. Jack Muldoon, who was in the youth set-up at DRFC and played alongside Howe at Lincoln - helping the Imps to become National League champions in 2016/17, had just been signed from AFC Fylde. Elsewhere, they had George Thomson - a dynamic goal-scoring midfielder with a good record at FC United and Chester, plus a plethora of players who'd helped them win promotion the previous season. Their 'experienced head' came in the shape of ex-Shrewsbury and Northampton player Kelvin Langmead.

On a sunny afternoon with 1,378 inside Wetherby Road (or the CNG Stadium as it's officially called), the hosts started brightly and pressed with intent inside the opening half-hour but weren't able to get a reward for their efforts as the woodwork twice thwarted them. Instead, very much against the run of play, Harrogate's 'keeper James Belshaw cut a frustrated figure when Sutton's Charlie Clough got his head to a dangerous free-kick from out wide and directed the ball into the back of the net - sparking celebrations from the 80 or so visiting fans directly behind the goal.

The second half saw Town regain their composure and continue to press with intent, nonetheless, and after Muldoon levelled close to the hour mark, it looked as if they would make the perfect start to life at a higher level when Langmead struck with just a few minutes remaining to put them 2-1 up. But it wasn't to be though, because on the brink of injury-time referee Simon Mather spotted a handball inside the Harrogate area and duly awarded Sutton a spot-kick which was calmly converted by Jamie Collins following a short delay.

A few weeks later I made another impromptu trip back to North Yorkshire to see the clash with Solihull Moors which ended in a deserved 3-1 win for Harrogate - an occasion which also saw 'Harry Gator' (a dinosaur) unveiled as the new club mascot, whilst on a third visit in 2018, Simon Weaver's team were on the wrong end of a 2-1 scoreline against Fylde.

Whatever happens in this Sunday's Play-Off Final against Notts County, there's no doubt that Harrogate have made remarkable progress in the past few years and should be proud of their achievements. They certainly haven't struggled to make their mark at a higher level.