Doncaster Rovers (U18s) 1-0 Chesterfield (U18s)
Friendly
Thursday 22nd October 2020
It's been a while since Doncaster Rovers' youth team were last in action; infact it's already two-and-a-half weeks since the league win at Huddersfield Town, so whilst this game was primarily about ensuring players got minutes under their belt, it was still nice for them to earn a win.
The decisive moment came midway through the second half when Ethan Bojang's far-post header from the excellent Charlie Bell's corner was inadvertently turned into his own net by a Chesterfield defender.
The lads did create several other chances and on another occasion perhaps would have won by a more emphatic scoreline; Bell, Bojang and Dan Wilds all struck the upright, whilst Alex Wolny, Luca Nelson and Tavonga Kuleya went close as well.
On a windy but sunny lunchtime in South Yorkshire, the opening 45 minutes weren't the most exciting there's ever been (to put it mildly) as clear-cut openings were sparse and instead, it was a largely tentative contest with lots of scrappy, midfield exchanges.
It was the visitors, with the wind behind them, who enjoyed the better openings and they almost went ahead within a couple of minutes when a right-sided ball into the penalty area was met by an attacker but his glancing header went narrowly wide of the target.
Rovers struggled with their ball retention, particularly inside their own half, during the early stages - thus, Chesterfield were given possession too easily and too many times and 'keeper Luke Chadwick was called into action just beyond the quarter-hour mark when he kept out a sweetly-strick long-range drive.
Nevertheless, there was gradual improvement as the half wore on; Bell began to have more of an influence from his defensive midfield position whilst, collectively, the lads began to retain the ball a bit more.
The Spireites continued to go close with Chadwick forced to tip a couple of attempts over the target (including one which was a teasing delivery from a corner), but Doncaster created by far the best opportunity just before half-time when Bell drove forward, pulled the trigger some 25 yards out, and saw his vicious strike cannon back off the upright. Unlucky!
A plethora of substitutions took place at the interval to ensure everyone received their fair share of game-time and Rovers, with the wind now behind them, had their opponents penned back for large swathes of the second period.
It was one-way traffic and Tom Henson was the first to try his luck with a speculative shot from the edge of the area which lacked accuracy and unfortunately didn't trouble the 'keeper.
Bojang (somehow!) then squandered a glorious, gilt-edged chance when he rattled the upright from close-range following a separate move which involved some decent, quick, attacking play down the right channel, before Corie Cole hit a low shot from inside the area which was spilled into Bojang's path.
Minutes later, the away 'keeper was equal to an attempt by Alex Wolny, who did well to initially retrieve possession inside the visitors' half and then carve out an opening, but his powerfully-struck 20-yard drive was tipped over the upright.
Incredibly, Rovers went even closer from the subsequent set-piece as Bell - re-introduced to the action just seconds earlier amidst a change in formation, delivered a great set-piece straight to the head of an unmarked Luca Nelson who (somehow!) headed over from almost point-blank range!
Will Hollings, who'd earlier been whacked by Alex Wolny when both players were trying to latch onto the same loose ball on the edge of the visitors' area, soon demonstrated his potential with some decent work at the byline - keeping the ball in play under pressure before showing some quick-thinking with a first-time near-post delivery from where Nelson managed to force the 'keeper to tip the ball wide.
It was at this set-piece, with roughly 65 minutes played, that the Spireites' luck finally evaporated and Rovers FINALLY made a breakthrough as Bell's ball beyond the far-post found Bojang lurking unmarked - and it was his header back across goal which caught the knee of an opponent before the ball ultimately trickled over the goal-line.
At this point, it seemed like the floodgates might open - and only another decent save by the visiting 'keeper, this time from a Bojang shot, prevented further damage.
Bojang; the youth team skipper, put in a good display and two minutes later he went on a driving midfield run which culminated with a dangerous ball into the penalty area which had to be intercepted at the expense of yet another corner, otherwise Wolny would have had a tap-in.
With under a quarter-of-an-hour remaining, Rovers' pressure wasn't quite as relentless and Chesterfield were sometimes at least able to get the ball out of their own half.
Nevertheless, the hosts soon hit the woodwork for a third time. After Kuleya had a shot blocked following a clever lay-off by Cole, Bell played the subsequent corner towards Dan Wilds whose looping, lobbed effort from the inside-right didn't look too troubling until the last moment when it struck the bar.
The game was edging towards what seemed an inevitable DRFC win but there was almost a late sting in the tale as the visitors broke away on a counter-attack and Ben Bottomley (who'd been a virtual spectator since his introduction for Chadwick at half-time) had to make a smart stop at his near-post.
Wolny responded to this chance with a powerful strike at the other end which was parried wide before, with the last kick of the game, the Spireites' 'keeper was also equal to a shot from Kuleya.
All in all, the score from this game doesn't mean an awful lot; it was a friendly, after all, and ensuring players got minutes in a 'game situation' ahead of their upcoming batch of competitive fixtures across three different competitions was essential.
There were some good positives - the biggest one of which was Charlie Bell's performance. Barring an instance where he just took too long on the ball and was dispossessed during the first half (something which he held his hands up to straight away), he had what I'd say was his best display in a DRFC shirt that I've seen. He was tough, enjoyed a couple of driving runs - including one a few minutes prior to the one where he hit the upright and it was a really good thing to see. In the last half-hour or so, when he was re-introduced, he did well at right-back and was solid in that position being combative right to the end.
Will Hollings did some good things during the game and deserves a mention. He showed his vision and awareness in an attacking sense a few times but his best contribution, in my opinion, was during the first 45 minutes when he nicked the ball off an opponent on the edge of his own box.
Apart from not scoring (and I don't know how he didn't score!), Ethan Bojang put in a solid shift as well with various instances of good play. Alex Wolny was another who performed well and battled strongly - including one occasion where he was having his shirt pulled (to extreme levels) yet still managed to win the ball before he was awarded a free-kick. Dan Wilds added balance and composure. Corie Cole showed some neat 'snippets' of his technical ability - and having seen him a few times now you can tell there's a really good, clever, technical player within him.
A mention also has to go to the defence on keeping a clean-sheet - the first clean-sheet (I think) since beating Chesterfield in a pre-season fixture about two months ago. For the first 60 minutes (right to left), the defence was Henson, Jemson, Nesbitt, Cunningham followed by Bell, Jemson, Cunningham, Henson for the final half-an-hour or so.
There are things which need improvement; such as 'game-management' at times when they're in winning situations, such as being watertight and resolute defensively and ensuring that attackers are rarely (if ever) able to get goal-side and the ball retention (early on) was far from okay.
But these things will come with time and experience!
Finally, on a day of driving runs where the lads steered themselves to victory, well done to Josh Clemitson on passing his driving test!
Players Used: Luke Chadwick, Ben Bottomley, Tom Henson, Max Jemson, Michael Nesbitt, Lewis Cunningham, Charlie Bell, Ethan Bojang, Dan Wilds, Will Hollings, Corie Cole, Luca Nelson, Alex Wolny, Owan Derrett, Tavonga Kuleya.
