" Match report Doncaster v Cardiff 14 Jan 2012 "

Could not believe there was frost on my car when I got out of bed at 10 in the morning. Usually up here the morning frost will have melting by then. Good job football pitches are prepared for this sort of weather I thought as I collected the twins and took them to Doncaster. Sometimes a good job is not worth doing.

I like going to places like Doncaster Rovers FC, a new ground on the outskirts of its town or city easy to get to. If you get there early enough you will find a beefeater or Harvester or some other national chained restaurant where they will allow you to park for free providing you go in and have a drink. I ended up in a beefeater which was 5 minutes walk to the stadium, easy life especially when you have a set of twins. Unfortunately for this match day that is where the easy but ended.

I took my place at the back of the away stand to the right of the goal. In the other block of seats behind the goal and at the back the young generation had gathered and tried to create the atmosphere of the old Ninian Park. Was this some sort of regeneration or was it to do with the cold weather I said to myself. Around 800 travelling supporters descended on the away section and besides the youngsters to my left it look like it was going to take some game to get us going. It was not going to happen.

Marshall took to the posts with the Taylor, Turner, Hudson and Blake in defence. A 5 man midfield was chosen with Whittingham, Cowie, Ralls, Gunnarson and Mason who played just in front of the other four and behind the lone striker Miller. No surprise this line up although no striker on the bench made me concerned.

The game kicked off and the cold hanging onto our bodies was not going anywhere. The home side attacked the goal in front of the home fans and for the first 15 minutes all the football was played in front of them. Fortunately for the visitors the hosts did not want to score.

The first chance came from a long throw to the right of the away fans. The ball bounced in front of Hudson and over him. Then it bounced in front of Turner and over him. The smallest man on the pitch, a Doncaster striker, jumped as high as he could and beat Taylor to the ball that was about face level with the full back. However the midget could not direct the ball on goal and sent it wide of the upright.

The home side fancied their chances down the Taylor side. This was because the other side where the home side had the horrible El Diouf playing, well he kept falling over and getting nowhere. So back to the Taylor side and the next chance came from a 20 yard drive that basically just about reached Marshalls arms.

The best chance of the half soon came about after this attack. From a poor corner clearance the ball fell to a home player and from 25 yards volleyed the ball back towards the Cardiff goal. The ball looked like it was on its way into the net but a Cardiff leg suddenly appeared and deflected the shot over the bar. "That was in" one or two said around me.

That woke Cardiff up because then they managed to get the ball into the home half. Unfortunately all the second phase play was won by the home midfielders and Cardiff were on the defence again. Fortunately the Rovers strike force were no where to be seen so somehow the play ended up back in the Doncaster half.

It was clear Cardiff only real chances on goal was going to be a mistake by the home midfielders and that is how their first chance came about. Mason took advantage if a misunderstanding and set Miller free. The centre forward took on his marker and looked like he had him beaten. He went around his markers right and lined up a shot just inside the home penalty area. Unfortunately his marker had recovered and managed to block the effort.

Miller had another chance on goal with about 10 minutes to go of the half when Whittingham set him up on the 18 yard line, however the Scotsman blasted the ball over the bar in his trade mark way.

Now as the first half came to an end the game was now being played in the Doncaster half. That is basically because the home side had placed most of their team around the centre circle. Whittingham was being totally marked out of the game which seems to be coming a bit of a trade mark whoever we play. However from one of his corners the ball fell to Ralls on the 18 yard line but he scuffed his volley wide.

Thankfully the referee ended the half as he must have felt sorry for all the supporters who look like a bunch of statues. Obviously he thought the fans needs a hot drink down them and he was spot on. Any longer and we would have all needed JCB lifting out of the ground.

The second half started a lot lively but only lasted about 3 minutes. In that time the home side created their best chance of the game. I thought it would take a bit of quality to break this game and had the dreaded fear it would come from El Diouf. Well I was nearly right as the pesticide picked the ball up just outside the Cardiff area and made his way across the field leasing a powerful drive inside the D area only to see his shot deflected onto the post and away. He still had to fall over after his shot though.

Cardiff started to get into the game after this scare with Whittingham working well Miller. They combined well to set up Gunnarson who forced a save out of the home keeper. The next attack came from the right wing where Miller left the ball for Cowie who blasted over the bar from 18 yards.


The game then spent quite a long period in the Cardiff half. Every time Cardiff cleared their lines they lost all the second phase in midfield therefore putting their own defence under pressure. One such move saw the ball crossed to the far post from the right where a Doncaster foot guided the ball goal bound. From the away support it looked like the ball was cleared of the line but a scrambled for the ball saw a nervous few seconds pass before it was cleared.

With 20 minutes left the home side then missed their chance of winning all three points. Once again they won second phase in midfield and Cardiff failed to organise themselves. From the left the popular Billy Sharp was picked out along just outside the Cardiff area. With only Marshall to beat he lost control of the ball. Marshall was quick off his line beating Sharpe to the ball. Marshall got down and parried the ball away with Sharp going over the keeper. The referee ignored Sharps and the home fans appeals for a penalty.

In the final quarter of the game both teams looked for a winner with McPhail coming on for Ralls and Kiss for Mason. It was the away side that went close in this period. In fact it was the only effort on goal with Whittingham from 20 yards shooting straight at the home keeper.

Both sets of fans were subdued with this game as neither keeper had to make a serious save. The game was being played in the midfield with the home side winning it comfortable. It was clear that Cardiff was tired but they stuck to their guns and started to look the better side as the home side tired. However the end products were not there for both sides. The referee brought the game to an end to the relief of the crowd.

Nice one Ian ....Terrible game, but I'll take the point.

10 o'clock out of bed ...

Cheers Ian, Looks like we nearly never turned up and did not play well.

Thanks again.

A good read as usual Ian

Good report Ian,

Shame the Beefeater was the highlight of your day

Cheers Ian, Look forward to the Pompey match report.