The Sporting Hack

Doncaster 22- 16 Featherstone Kingstone Press Championship Keepmoat Stadium, attendance – 1317 Doncaster player/coach Paul Cooke can add the title of ‘matchwinner’ to his ever growing list of roles and responsibilities within the south Yorkshire club’s ranks following his 70 th minute try which salvaged a creditable win over highly-fancied Featherstone. Cooke-d to perfection The 32 year old (right) was the difference between the two sides and his majestic dummy late on was fit to settle any game in a contest where Doncaster held the lead for the large part. After Dave Scott and Jay Pitts had helped the hosts in to a 12 point lead before the half hour mark, their biggest enemy was a near-crippling penalty count against them; their ill-discipline only outdone by the weather and subsequent bouts of hail.   Featherstone got off the mark just before half time when Ian Hardman pounced on a chip through to race clear and halve the deficit and, though Stewart San...

Pointing in the right direction: Dickov Doncaster Rovers 1-0 Sheffield Wednesday Skybet Championship Keepmoat Stadium, attendance – 12609 “It wasn’t the best we’ve played by any means recently but sometimes you’ve got to really roll your sleeves up, dig in and get a result,” were the words of a delighted Doncaster Rovers boss Paul Dickov as his side edged this south Yorkshire derby and gave their survival hopes a massive boost in the process. Rovers moved eight points clear of the trap door thanks to Chris Brown’s 32 nd minute strike; completing a satisfying double over their neighbours. Owls boss Stuart Gray said his side’s efforts were an “off day” as his team slumped to their first defeat in three outings. “When you’re on top you’ve got to convert your chances. Our crossing was poor and our shooting was poor.” Gray wasn’t wrong, the visitor’s best chance fell to Leon Best whose shot was smartly saved by Sam Johnstone while Rovers utilised their set pieces bet...

While the achievements of Sheffield United’s remarkable FA Cup run to the semi-final may have stolen the majority of headlines in the Steel City lately, their cross city neighbours, Wednesday, have been going about their business rather purposefully of late, rattling off four wins in their last six league outings. Fresh from resounding victories over Birmingham City and Queens Park Rangers, the Owls travel to local rivals Doncaster Rovers on Saturday in a fixture where a win would all but secure their Championship status for another season, as they push for a top ten finish for the first time in seven years. Manager Stuart Gray (right) said: "I've always said the incentive is to chip away at teams above and finish as high as possible. I know we are taking an unbelievable following to Doncaster and I am very grateful to the fans for that. The challenge for the players is to put on a performance for the supporters and continue on this winning run.” Gray’s opposite nu...

Sheffield United 1-0 Carlisle United Sky Bet League 1 Bramall Lane Attendance: 15,437 Hopes of a Wembley double are still very much alive for Nigel Clough whose side recorded a routine win against Carlisle United in what has been a far from routine season so far for Sheffield United. Clough (right) , who saw his side book a date in the FA Cup semi-final with victory over Charlton Athletic at the weekend, allowed himself the luxury of dreaming of an unlikely play-off spot just months on from relegation fears. “The top five have probably gone away a little bit but that sixth spot is still up for grabs,” he said optimistically. The Blades, who celebrate their 125 th anniversary this season, have now recorded ten consecutive wins in all competitions and saw this one out thanks to Jose Baxter’s 28 th minute strike. “I’m incredibly proud of what the players have achieved. You almost run out of superlatives as to what they have done,” added Clough. “Some of them were dead o...

The method of Stuart Broad’s dismissal courtesy of West Indian wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin was more a case of ‘limped out’ than the ‘run out’ recorded in the scorebooks, as England suffered a 27 run defeat in the first of the three match Twenty20 series in Barbados yesterday. The England captain’s exit not only typified his side’s performance but arguably the winter of discontent suffered by English cricket which can’t be forgotten soon enough. Nursing a long-term knee injury for which he has regular painkilling injections, Broad ‘tweeted’: “The workload over the winter has got it to a point it needs treatment. 7 days should be fine.” With the defence of their World T20 crown in Bangladesh on the horizon, questions must be asked about the frequency of matches that their premier all-rounder, and arguably best bowler, is participating in. The fact that Broad has played five Ashes tests, six ODI matches and four T20 internationals since late November must speak for its...