Rossington Main 0 v Doncaster Rovers 4 - PSF

Tuesday 12th July 2016

Pre-Season Friendly

at Oxford Street

Rossington Main (0) 0

Doncaster Rovers (2) 4

James Coppinger 15, Will Longbottom 23

Tommy Rowe 47, Andy Williams 85

Admission £6. Programme £2
Attendance 1425 a new record crowd for 'Rosso'

Rossington Main:
Musselwhite, Dorgan, Billam, Sanderson, Cook, Morris, Hatton, Johnson, Churchill, Pendleton, Doyle.
Subs: Chipamaunga, Dye, Wiffen, Lodge, Radu, Harte, Wright, Grren, Woodhall.
Doncaster Rovers first half:
Etheridge, Lund, Barker, Alcock, Garratt, Green, Coppinger, Calder, Longbottom, Mandeville, Marquis.
Doncaster Rovers second half:
Etheridge, Walker, Butler, Fielding, Evina, Middleton, Blair, James, Rowe, Pugh, Williams.

Darren Ferguson, Donny Rovers manager posing for THE66POW.

His father is quite famous too, by virtue of having played for Queens Park, St. Johnstone, Dunfermline Athletic, Glasgow Rangers, Falkirk and Ayr United; that's an impressive pedigree... and then some.

The first of my three pre-season visits to Rossington this month, saw the Main's EFL Division 2 neighbours: Doncaster Rovers make the short trip down t'road to play their annual friendly on the lush green turf of Oxford Street.
"Is that Paul Green?" was the question on many people's lips, as the team's took to the pitch... and fairly soon afterwards a cluster of Rovers fans behind the goal soon confirmed it was, with a chant honouring their former hero, who left the Keepmoat Stadium eight years, last appearing for them in a first division play off final at Wembley in 2008, where they famously beat Leeds United.

Now aged 33, Green isn't actually fixed up with a club at present, after being released by Rotherham United, but he is currently training with Rovers, which is providing the rumour mill with a few overtime shifts.

The playing surface at 'Rosso' is an open invitation to play football on the deck and pass it around, as God had intended... and Ferguson's side, in their first pre-season outing, looked very comfortable at at ease knocking the ball around as they tried cutting a swathe through a very hard working Main midfield and defence.

Ryan Musselwhite, playing in goal for the home side, was the busiest player on the pitch tonight, keeping a respectable look to the scoreline in a game that Rovers dominated, including a great stop early on from the Football League side's new signing John Marquis.
In the event it took a special goal to beat the Main keeper and open the scoring; when James Coppinger hit a dipping free kick over the home side's defensive wall after fifteen minutes from outside the area.

James Coppinger opens the scoring.
Left click picture to enlarge.

Coppinger was involved in Doncaster's second goal eight minutes later, when he picked out Will Longbottom on the edge of the area, from a right wing corner, that he duly met with a crisp volley and bulged the back of the net.
Two goals behind, it looked as though the home side were on a hiding to nothing, but they dug in deep and repelled wave after wave of Rovers pressure, with the kind of deep set, damage limitation defending that prevailed during the recent EURO 2016 tournament.
It worked, to a point and despite their best efforts 'Donny' were restricted to just the two goals prior to the break.
HT: Rossington Main 0 v Doncaster Rovers 2

During the half time break, I had a chat with the former Mansfield Town manager (and Bradford City assistant manager) Steve Parkin, who is now at Bolton Wanderers, with who he shall be returning to Field Mill on Saturday, when the Trotters visit Field Mill for a friendly with the Stags.
Talking of Mansfield Town; they are visiting Rossington Main's ground tomorrow, for a hastily arranged friendly match against Matlock Town.
Yes! You read that right: a Nottinghamshire side are playing a team from Derbyshire, in a green and pleasant corner of South Yorkshire... Kick off is ay 7.30pm, get yourself along and spend loads of cash in that nice Mr Stokes clubhouse.

Pretty much the whole of the second half was played out in the Rossington half, as a completely different outfield side, carried on in the same vein as before the interval for the visitors... and it was looking ominous for Rossington, when Rovers added a third goal inside the opening two minutes of the second half, when Tommy Rowe ran forward in pursuit of a route one punt from midfield and picked his spot just beyond the reach of  Musselwhite, who quite possibly had every right to double check if his defence had actually come back out of the dressing room yet.

Another familiar face, Matty Blair came on for Rovers in the second half (I was relying on familiar faces to recognise any of the visiting team, because they were playing in training shirts with no numbers on the back).
Blair nearly added a fourth goal, but Simon Dye, who was seeing out the game in goal for Rossington, denied him with a decent save.
'Donny' finish the game with a flurry of activity around the home side's area, with Andy Williams going close before he actually found himself in a lot of space with just five minutes to go and knocking home a fourth goal.

Doncaster Rovers played very, very well, but Rossington Main, didn't deserve to lose by any more than four goals, after all of their hard graft and some heroics from their goalkeepers.

'Rosso' are at home again on Saturday 16th July v Heanor Town, away at AFC Bentley on Saturday 23rd July and home again against Clipstone on Tuesday 26th July and Harworth Colliery on Saturday 30th July.

Final word: well done to everyone at Rossington Main for being such superb hosts tonight and for doing a great job of catering for such a large crowd. The ground improvements have not gone unnoticed either,
RESPECT!
FT: Rossington Main 0 v Doncaster Rovers 4