The Sporting Hack

Courtesy of @drfc_official Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Portsmouth EFL SkyBet League 1 Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster (Att: 7,211) Tuesday 17 October 2017 Doncaster recorded back to back wins for the first time this season and for just the sixth time at home since Portsmouth were last in town in January’s League Two encounter. Pompey were crowned kings of the fourth tier after the Yorkshire side spectacularly threw away a hefty points advantage in the race for the title. However the south coast side couldn’t repeat a similar feat over 90 minutes having put themselves behind the eight ball almost from the off. Doncaster’s Liam Mandeville, the forward with just four league starts this campaign, was deemed the only available striker at Darren Ferguson’s disposal. He simply shrugged off the notion that the responsibility may be too much for his youthful shoulders by notching inside the opening three minutes of the game. Tommy Rowe’s persistent run to the edge of the box and pr...

Courtesy of @drfc_official Doncaster Rovers 4-1 Southend United EFL SkyBet League 1 Keepmoat Stadium, Doncaster (Att: 7369) Saturday 7 October 2017 Ben Whiteman’s ten-minute hat-trick saw Doncaster come from behind in the second half to beat Southend.  The Sheffield United loanee slotted, thundered and caressed strikes home all within the space of 600 seconds to give Darren Ferguson’s men their first win at home since they sealed their promotion to the third tier in early April. It was all going so well for the Shrimpers who led through Anthony Wordsworth’s first half header but they must wince at the memories of trips to South Yorkshire having suffered a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Rotherham just two months previously. When Wordsworth struck, in the 38 th minute, some could argue that he was lucky to be on the pitch having given Doncaster – and their midfielder Jordan Houghton – a kick up the backside. Despite consulting his assistant and the fourth of...