FANTASY LEAGUE: Season Results
The 2011/12 season is over, and with Rovers relegated it might be one some fans want to forget. But members of the Vikingsbloggen Fantasy League will be itching to find out whether they have led their side to glory, or failed to make any impact.
The Winner – Liam Oliver
Vikingsbloggen’s top stalker has beat off all competition to win this year’s Fantasy League. Liam’s side, ‘PUB TEAM HAVING A LAUGH’ were clear winners with a 50 point lead on second place with a massive 557 points!
Scoring an impressive 78 goals and notching 65 assists, Liam’s side were deserved winners.
Congratulations Liam!
Runner Up – Steve Kendrick
This year’s silver medalist is Steve Kendrick’s ‘Berkshire Rover’. Scoring a fantastic 69 goals and achieving 68 assists, Steve’s side beat off hos closest rival by a mind boggling 76 points. There was little chance that the Berkshire Rover would be caught and relaxed in second spot.
Third Place – Paul Toomey
Paul’s ‘Tommey FC’ gets third spot this year, scoring 431 points. His side netted 70 goals, more than our Runner Up! They also managed 42 assists.
At the Other End
10th Spot – Mathew Findley
Sitting third from bottom was Mathew’s side, ‘@finderz4′. Scoring 54 goals and achieving 39 assists ‘@finderz4′ managed only 331 points this season.
11th Spot – Chris Burton
Chris’ side, ‘Donny Rovers’ finished second to bottom this season. Scoring 40 goals and 39 assists ‘Donny Rovers’ managed 290 points, giving them a 60 point advantage over bottom spot.
12th and Bottom – Daniel Williamson
It seems this outcome has been on the cards for some time now. Dan’s ‘Total Football Rovers’ managed only 230 points from 41 goals and 35 assists leaving them a huge 327 points behind our league leaders.
A word of advice Dan, don’t give up on your degree!
CLICK HERE TO SEE WHERE YOU FINISHED IN THE VIKINGSBLOGGEN FANTASY LEAGUE THIS SEASON!
The Return of ‘The Mill’
The 2011/12 campaign is over and Dean Saunders is looking to rebuild the Doncaster Rovers squad ready for the 2012/13 League One season.
Keep up to date with all the movement around the Keepmoat in the build up for next season with ‘The Mill’!
If you hear something we haven’t reported on, let us know! You can comment on ‘The Mill’ page or email us at vikingsbloggen@ymail.com.
REPORT: Ipswich Town (H)
Doncaster Rovers looked to end a poor season with a win against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
As we all already knew, Doncaster Rovers had been relegated following a poor Championship campaign. Many fans would have been glad to see the season finally come to a close and move onto next season in League One.
Match Action – First Half
From kick off, Ipswich Town had better luck with the ball as Rovers struggled to string simple passes together. It was the visitors who broke the deadlock in the 10th minute.
Rovers had struggled to deal with many of Ipswich’s corners and they managed to find the net through TOMMY SMITH following more poor defending.
They nearly doubled their lead with an identical corner, again beating Gary Woods. This time the ball crashed against the crossbar, luckily for Rovers.
James Hayter failed to score a good chance when Fabien Robert’s effort fell to his fellow striker in the box. Hayter’s effort beat the visiting keeper but failed to find the target.
Ipswich doubled their advantage after 29 minutes. RYAN STEVENSON had an effort from long range and watched his shot test the strength of the crossbar yet again. This time the ball deflected down off the bar, crossing the line.
The next goal came 4 minutes later, probably against the run of play. Simon Gillett crossed for FABIEN ROBERT who slid in to score his second Rovers goal.
At the break
ROVERS 1-2 IPSWICH
Match Action – Second Half
The second half saw nothing change in the way the game was played from both sides. Despite this, the next goal took 33 minutes to arrive. The goal came from the spot through JASON SCOTLAND after Habib Beye was adjudged to have brought the goalscorer down in the box.
There looked to be no doubt in the result, even when Doncaster Rovers scored a second. A long ball was sent forward by James Coppinger, HABIB BEYE met it in the box and scored from an acute angle.
How it finished
ROVERS 2-3 IPSWICH
vikingsbloggen MOTM – James Husband. Referee - S Mathieson.
Atmosphere Rating – 6/10. Attendance – 9,764. Performance – 6/10.
How they lined up
Rovers
G. Woods
O’Connor Beye Friend Husband
Hird
Coppinger Oster Gillett
Hayter Robert
And on the bench… Sullivan, Dumbuya, M. Woods (Oster – 75), Bamogo, Bennett (Hird – 61).
Ipswich Town
Lee-Barrett
Edwards Delaney Sonko Smith
Emmanuel-Thomas Stevenson Drury Murphy
Martin Chopra
And on the bench… Scotland (Murphy – 66), Bullard (Chopra – 76), Carson, Whight, Lawrence (E-Thomas – 79).
PREVIEW: Ipswich Town (H)
Here it is; the final game of the 2011/12 season and Doncaster Rovers’ last in the Championship for at least a season.
Tomorrow sees Doncaster Rovers finish the season at home for the first time since the 2006/07 campaign. The game also marks the end of Rovers’ current stay in the second tier of English football.
Did You Know?
Connor Wickham holds the record for the most expensive player to leave Portman Road, going to Sunderland last summer for £8 million.
Last Time Out (DRFC V ITFC- 15/02/2011)
Rovers were left red faced when the ‘Tractor Boys’ last visited the Keepmoat. SAM HIRD took the liberty of opening the scoring in the 25th minute for the visitors before both COLIN HEALY and CONNOR WICKHAM scored before the break.
WICKHAM doubled his tally in the 61st minute before GARETH McAULEY found the net for Ipswich’s 5th four minutes later.
Despite already being 5-0 up, the visitors didn’t stop there. CONNOR WICKHAM was on hand to score his third and his side’s 6th.
The thumping defeat left Donny in 16th while Ipswich were only 4 points better off in 13th.
Ipswich League Record
2010/11 W- 18, D- 13. L- 20.
2011/12 W- 16, D- 10, L- 19.
Team News
Rovers
Habib Beye is available for selection after serving a three-match ban after being shown a red card against Portsmouth.
Tommy Spurr, Brian Stock and El-Hadji Diouf will all miss out while Martin Woods and Habib Bamogo may feature after appearing on the bench on Saturday.
Ipswich
Aaron Cresswell will miss out of the game tomorrow along with team mates Luke Hyam, Jimmy Bullard and Lee Martin.
Ryan Stevenson will face a late fitness test.
In Charge
Scott Mathieson takes charge of tomorrow’s game. The Cheshire official last took control of a Doncaster Rovers game when the met West Ham at home in August. West Ham beat Rovers 1-0 in a game where 2 yellow cards were shown.
Ipswich were last refereed by Mathieson in September 2011 when the played Middlesbrough at the Riverside. The game finished 0-0 and he showed 2 yellow cards.
REPORT: Coventry City (A)
Already relegated, Doncaster Rovers look to end the season in style.
Coventry City were relegated after being beaten by already relegated Doncaster Rovers at the Ricoh Arena yesterday.
Match Action – First Half
Doncaster Rovers played attractive football throughout the first half, passing the ball well and moving forward in a positive way.
Both sides missed chances throughout the first half, with James Coppinger and Simon Gillett among those taking shots.
Probably the best chance of the first half fell to the hosts, but George Friend headed Clive Platt’s shot off of the line.
At the break
COVENTRY 0-0 ROVERS
Match Action – Second Half
In the second half, Rovers seemed to allow the home side to retain possession for longer periods of time. Luckily for Rovers, Coventry failed to find the net.
It was Doncaster Rovers who took the lead, but left it until the 80th minute. James Hayter beat Richard Keogh to move towards goal, but Keogh tugged the Rovers’ striker back. The penalty was awarded and HAYTER took the shot, sending Murphy the wrong way.
James Husband had Rovers’ next best chance when he found himself one-on-one with Murphy only to shoot straight at the former Scunthorpe man.
It didn’t take long for the visitors to score again, the second coming in the 87th minute. John Oster played a ball across to SIMON GILLETT who strolled across the edge of the area before firing low and hard into the right of the net.
How it finished
COVENTRY 0-2 ROVERS
Coventry City join Doncaster Rovers in nPower League One next season. Also relegated yesterday was Portsmouth FC.
vikingsbloggen MOTM - James Husband. Referee – C. Foy.
Atmosphere - 7/10. Attendance – 14,124. Performance - 8/10.
How they lined up
Rovers
G. Woods
O’Connor Lockwood Friend Husband
Hird
Oster Gillett Coppinger
Brown Robert
And on the bench… Hayter (Brown – 41), Bamogo, Bennett (Robert – 52), Dumbuya, M. Woods (Coppinger- 89).
Coventry City
Murphy
Clarke Keogh Cranie Hussey
Norwood Thomas Bigirimana McSheffrey
McDonald Platt
And on the bench… Dunn, Baker (Thomas – 68), Jeffers, Willis, Roberts.
PREVIEW: Coventry City (A)
The final away game of the 2011-12 campaign sees Doncaster Rovers travel to face Coventry City, who are on the verge of joining Rovers in League One.
Rovers played without pressure at the Riverside against Middlesbrough on Tuesday night and left with a point – their first on Teesside.
Coventry need a win tomorrow to stand any chance of staying in the Championship, but if Bristol City win at home to Barnsley, the Sky Blues will join Rovers in League One next season.
Did You Know?
Coventry City were formed 4 years after Rovers, although under the name of Singers FC.
Last Time Out (CCFC V DRFC- 28/09/2010)
It is over 2 years since Rovers visited the Ricoh Arena. The last visit resulted in a 2-1 Coventry win.
ARON GUNNARSSON was first to find the net, his close range effort came in the 2nd minute.
BILLY SHARP levelled the scores just before half time who scored by striking across Westwood in the Coventry net.
The game looked set to finish level, but the hosts thought otherwise. GARY MCSHEFFREY was on hand to head in a Jutkiewicz cross.
The defeat put Donny into 14th place with 12 points, while the home side were 2 points better off in 9th.
Coventry City League Record
2010/11 W- 14, D- 13. L- 19.
2011/12 W- 9, D- 13, L- 22.
Team News
Rovers
Shelton Martis is a doubt after limping out of the game against Boro. Tommy Spurr and Brian Stock are out for the remainder of the season with their respective injuries.
Martin Woods and Habib Bamogo are nearing a return but do not yet have full match fitness.
Coventry City
Alex Nimely is likely to miss out while Richard Wood, Nathan Cameron, Cyrus Christie, Paul Deegan, Carl Baker and Hermann Hreidarsson each remain on the sidelines.
In Charge
The penultimate game of the 2011-12 campaign will be officiated by Chris Foy.
The Merseyside referee, who is more commonly known from the Premier League, last took charge of a Doncaster Rovers game in 2005/06 when they met Chesterfield at Saltergate. Rovers won the game 1-0 where Foy showed 3 yellow cards.
Coventry have already met Foy this season when Derby County visited the Ricoh Arena. The hosts won 2-0 in a game where, surprisingly no cards were shown.
REPORT: Middlesbrough (A)
Rovers were relegated under controversial circumstances on Saturday, meaning the game against Middlesbrough could be played with no pressure.
Middlesbrough are currently pushing for a play off place, but could not find a way past Rovers and were therefore held for a point at the Riverside.
Match Action – First Half
Doncaster Rovers kicked the game off but it was Middlesbrough who had the first attacking move, winning a corner in only the third minute. The next chance fell to Rovers when Chris Brown met a Jimmy O’Connor cross in front of goal, but his effort cleared the crossbar.
Both sides continued to have chances, with Boro having a higher tally. Despite this, neither side could find the target and they went in level at half time.
The hosts struggled to retain possession when put under pressure by both Chris Brown and Fabien Robert throughout the first half.
At the break
MIDDLESBROUGH 0-0 ROVERS
Match Action – Second Half
Boro took the opening chance of the second period, but Barry Robson’s long range effort failed to test Gary Woods.
In the 50th minute, Shelton Martis was replaced through injury. In his place was James Husband, making his first team debut since signing from the youth team earlier in the season.
Middlesbrough dominated the chances gained throughout the second half, but again failed to beat Gary Woods who made a number of good saves. Rovers too had chances but like their hosts, were unable to convert any chance they had.
How it finished
MIDDLESBROUGH 0-0 ROVERS
vikingsbloggen MOTM - Gary Woods. Referee – D. Drysdale.
Atmosphere - 7/10. Attendance – 14,967. Performance - 8/10.
How they lined up
Rovers
G. Woods
O’Connor Lockwood Martis Friend
Hird
Oster Gillett Coppinger
Brown Robert
And on the bench… Hayter, Barnes, Bennett (Robert – 57), Dumbuya, Husband (Martis – 50).
Middlesbrough
Steele
Hoyte McManus Hines McMahon
Bailey Arca Robson
Jutkiewicz Emnes
And on the bench… Thomson (Arca – 74), Hammill (Emnes – 62), Ogbeche, Main (Robson – 63), Smallwood.
PREVIEW: Middlesbrough (A)
Middlesbrough welcome Rovers to the Riverside tomorrow night for what will be Donny’s penultimate away fixture in the Championship.
Rovers were relegated following a referee aided Portsmouth victory on Saturday. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, are fighting for a play-off place.
Did You Know?
Players such as Brian Clough, Tony Mowbray and Gareth Southgate all once played for the Teesside club.
Last Time Out (MFC V DRFC- 07/05/2011)
Rovers last visited the Riverside on the final day of the 2010/11 campaign. The South Yorkshire side were already safe from relegation, so there was no pressure on the result of the game.
BARRY ROBSON opened the scoring after 43 minutes before LEROY LITA scored the second in the 66th minute. A 2-0 defeat looked certain in the closing stages until ADAM REACH scored their third on 90+3 minutes.
The defeat saw Donny end the season in 21st while Boro finished in 12th.
Middlesbrough League Record
2010/11 W- 17, D- 11. L- 18.
2011/12 W- 17, D- 15, L- 11.
Team News
Rovers
Tommy Spurr is still unavailable following a hand operation earlier in the year. Habib Beye is suspended following a straight red card during the Portsmouth game on Saturday. Fabien Robert limped out of the same game at half time, but may still feature.
Middlesbrough
To Follow…
In Charge
Darren Drysdale takes charge of his third Rovers match this campaign, having been in charge against Peterbrough and Watford already this season. In the Watford game, Drysdale showed 4 yellow cards and one red (for Herold Goulon).
Middlesbrough were last involved with Drysdale when the faced Barnsley early on this season. They won the game 3-1 in which he showed 3 yellow cards.
REPORT: Portsmouth (H)
Doncaster Rovers were relegated following a game filled with controversy against Portsmouth on Saturday.
Rovers had to win their game against Pompey for any chance of survival, providing all other scores went their way. Fans knew that relegation was almost inevitable but none would have expected to see a game full of so many poor refereeing decisions.
Match Action – First Half
Rovers really could not have started the game any better than when HABIB BEYE headed in a James Coppinger free kick in the 3rd minute of play. Coppinger’s cross fell into the crowded penalty area where Beye managed to get the final touch to send the ball looping out of reach of the Portsmouth keeper.
Fans were ecstatic and were celebrating again only 2 minutes later. Coppinger’s low cross from the right wing found FABIEN ROBERT who slotted home at the second time of asking after his initial effort was parried by Jamie Ashdown.
Donny could have easily made it three a short time after. Gary Woods sent a long ball which found Coppinger on the right wing, but his looping effort rattled the crossbar to the relief of the Portsmouth keeper who could get nowhere near it.
At the break
ROVERS 2-0 PORTSMOUTH
Match Action – Second Half
Around 10 minutes into the second half, Portsmouth were awarded a penalty. A challenge from Habib Beye brought down Dave Kitson which the referee adjudged to be inside the area. Replays show the challenge was made at least a foot outside the area. GREG HALFORD coolly slotted home to bring the scores to 2-1. Habib Beye was also shown a red card for the challenge.
In the 65th minute the visitors were awarded another penalty. This time Jimmy O’Connor was penalized for blocking David Norris’ shot with his hand. GREG HALFORD stepped up and scored through the same routine, although this time Gary Woods managed to get a hand to the shot.
Two minutes later and the scores changed yet again. Simon Gillett found JAMES COPPINGER making a run down the wing. He beat one defender on his run into the box before scoring through a deflected effort to put Rovers back into the lead.
The game settled down for a short period before the next goal which came in the 90th minute. A cross found DAVE KITSON in the centre of the area who pushed the ball over the head of Woods using both hands. Despite appeals from the Rovers’ side, the goal stood.
Portsmouth scored the next goal too, the goal that turned out to be the winner. This time MARKO FUTACS struck low into the centre of the goal. Again appeals to the referee resulted in nothing as Sam Hird had been shoved away by Kitson before the goal.
An exciting yet controversial clash saw Portsmouth survive at least for one more game while Rovers were relegated into League One after a 4 year stay in the Championship.
How it finished
ROVERS 3-4 PORTSMOUTH
vikingsbloggen MOTM – James Coppinger. Referee - M. Russell.
Atmosphere Rating – 7/10. Attendance – 8,196. Performance – 8/10.
How they lined up
Rovers
Woods
O’Connor Lockwood Beye Friend
Coppinger Barnes Gillett Oster
Brown Robert
And on the bench… Sullivan, Hird (Oster – 59), Dumbuya (Brown – 73), Hayter (Robert – 45), Bennett.
Portsmouth
Ashdown
Ward Rocha Pearce Rekik
Halford Norris Allan
Etuhu Maguire Varney
And on the bench… Mokoena, Futacs (Rekiks – 76), Harris (Varney – 46), Kitson (Etuhu – 28), Scapuzzi.
PREVIEW: Portsmouth (H)
Doncaster Rovers now sit 11 points from safety at the foot of the Championship table. With 12 points up for grabs, hopes of survival are looking extremely slim.
Pompey are also in a dangerous position, since having 10 points deducted through administration. They are currently 9 points from safety.
If results go against Rovers tomorrow, the South Yorkshire side could be relegated, bringing the 4 year stay in the Championship to an end. Portsmouth may also be relegated tomorrow.
Did You Know?
Portsmouth FC’s first ever kit was salmon pink in colour. It was accompanied by white shorts and maroon socks.
Last Time Out (DRFC V PFC- 12/02/2011)
The South Coast side won on their last visit to Doncaster. The game finished 2-0 with goals from DAVE KITSON and JOEL WARD. The visitors managed to retain their lead despite having a man sent off in the closing stages.
The defeat left Donny in 16th while Pompey trailed behind in 18th.
Portsmouth League Record
2010/11 W- 15, D- 13. L- 18.
2011/12 W- 11, D- 11, L- 20. (10 points deducted)
Team News
Rovers
Brian Stock and El-Hadji Diouf may return for Rovers tomorrow following respective injuries. Habib Bamogo and Martin Woods are still unavailable while Habib Beye looks unlikely to feature.
Portsmouth
Pompey are likely to welcome Ricardo Rocha back into their squad following injury. Tal Ben Haim and Aaron Mokoena will miss out along with striker Kanu.
In Charge
Mick Russell takes charge of tomorrow’s meeting. Russell last controlled a Rovers’ match in August 2009 when Preston travelled to the Keepmoat. The game finished 1-1 and he showed only 1 yellow card.
He last took charge of a Pompey game in August 2010. The game also finished 1-1 with Reading at Fratton Park. He showed no cards throughout the game.
