Charlie Wood and Sam Bunce
Doncaster Rovers eased past automatic promotion hopefuls Notts County 2-1 to become League Two Champions.
A brace from Rob Street guided Donny to a victory which cemented their place at the top of League Two. The talisman for the South Yorkshire side found the net with 18 minutes played to silence the vociferous County supporters. A kind deflection from a teasing free-kick granted Street a tap in to break the deadlock.
He added a second after manufacturing a chance with some neat footwork and slotted his effort past Alex Bass.
Despite Alassana Jatta’s late consolation goal in the final minute, County were denied automatic promotion.
Stuart Maynard was forced to make one change with Charlie Whitaker entering the starting lineup. County’s Players’ and Fans’ Player of the Season David McGoldrick sustained a minor injury at their 3-1 win at Harrogate, and was dropped to the bench as a necessary precaution.
County had already secured a play-off spot, but a win in front of a packed out Meadow Lane, along with other results going in their favour, would have seen them automatically promoted.
Grant McCann’s side had the extra incentive to finish top of the league
League One’s latest addition had a sold out away support to spur them onto victory. Grant McCann’s side had the extra incentive to finish top of the league with Port Vale just one point behind them before proceedings began.
Final day of the League Two campaign, a possible place in League One for the first time in a decade for the world’s oldest professional football club, and you could certainly feel that in the air. It was the highest attendance all season at Meadow Lane with home and away fans contributing their part.
The first chance fell to Doncaster Rovers, who had gone 10 unbeaten before travelling to Nottingham. A loose pass from George Abbott led the away side’s front line to pounce on his mistake. A neat passage of play, instigated by Rob Street, set up Luke Molyneux to strike from the edge of the area, but his effort drifted over the bar.
The Donny attacker has the second most goal contributions in League Two, and this was an early warning sign for the County defenders.
A sea of defenders in black and white put their bodies on the line
The visitors kept the pressure high. A well-worked free kick was retained in the box by Street before Gibson powered his strike towards goal. A sea of defenders in black and white put their bodies on the line, but the ball deflected and fell perfectly at the feet of Street who tapped in the opener.
The number nine added further wounds to Notts County ten minutes later. He peeled away from his marker to receive a lofted ball from Jamie Sterry. Street proceeded to hold off his defenders and remained composed under pressure to chip the ball beyond Alex Bass.
Doncaster were running rings around the promotion hopefuls, who found it difficult to string a series of passes together in the first half, despite boasting the highest average possession of any League Two team this term.
George Abbott and Gordon combined well down the right as the latter swung in two in-swinging crosses and had been County’s only sign of life in their attack. The first invited Alassana Jatta to meet the ball in the air but he couldn’t keep his balance and Doncaster were able to fend off his threat.
Meanwhile, the second cross was brought down and fired towards goal by Jodi Jones, however, Teddy Sharman-Lowe stood firm in his net.
County finished the half posing some concern for those in red and white as Gordon elected to go for goal himself and force the Doncaster goalkeeper into his first save at Meadow Lane.
The strikers for both sides also had convincing opportunities in added time. Street was unable to complete his first half hat-trick and extend his team’s lead as his header floated off target.
At the other end, Notts County’s top scorer, Jatta, stretched to reach a promising ball in the box, however, it whistled beyond him. Stuart Maynard’s men went into the break needing three goals if they stood any chance of promotion on the final day.
In the second half, Street missed another chance to grab his hat-trick, after hitting the post in a one-on-one encounter with Bass.
Despite County initially only boasting of a handful of half chances, notably Jodi Jones and Matty Platt, Tottenham loanee Abbott continued to shine in the midfield with intricate footwork and tenacious runs.
Zain Westbrooke missed a glaring opportunity to extend the visitors’ advantage, only for his tame breakaway chance to be saved by Bass.
A late consolation goal from County’s top scorer, Jatta, could not dampen the jubilant Doncaster mood. As the second half procession progressed, the title celebrations well and truly began in the away end as the two-thousand travelling fans made their voices heard.
For County, this defeat and results elsewhere ensured a sixth-place finish and booked them a play-off semi-final against Wimbledon next week.
Charlie Wood and Sam Bunce
Featured image courtesy of Jocey Neligwa. Permission given to use.
In article image 1 courtesy of @drfcofficial via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.?
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