Next Match: Scunthorpe United (A) Tuesday 28th September 2010

Saturday 27 March 2010

Donny edge forgettable Yorkshire derby

Well, we all knew it would happen one day. After wins in our previous 3 meetings with Donny since their promotion to the Championship, they were long overdue something against us.

Before I set off yesterday, I got something I never thought I'd get; a good luck message from my girlfriends dad, a die hard Wendy-ite. Seems that Donny have ruffled a few feathers in the last couple of seasons, and apparently "it's time someone brought them back down to Earth" (his words, not mine). It's fair to say that rather than bringing them back down to Earth, we've just made it a whole lot worse.

Amidst rumours all week that Rovers had failed to sell more than 2,000 tickets for the game, plus the many warnings on the official website that all Donny fans would be kept away from town, I wasn't expecting to see many of them roaming around. I couldn't have been more wrong, and we saw plenty of them. I didn't see any trouble between the two sets of fans, which rather makes a mockery of the 'all ticket' fiasco that had surrounded this game. Luckily, the police saw the error of their ways and changed the ticketing on Friday, rather late, but better late than never.

Before the game, we headed to the ticket office to sort our Pigs tickets out, and ended up stood behind Ryan Shotton in the queue, who was trying to get some more tickets for the players lounge. He gave us an early bit of team news, confirming that big Darren Moore was back in the team, with Shotton being moved to full back. He also told us he was hoping not to get sent off, which is helpful. Just try not lunging into people, that should probably do it. He received a generous offer from a couple of lads in front of him, who offered to buy his players lounge tickets if he promised to sign for us permanently next season, and I'm taking his nervous laughter as a verbal contract. We wished him luck for the game, and he went off on his way.

We watched Crystal Palace lose to Cardiff on the telly in the pub before we set off to the ground. Cardiff winning probably rang the death knell on our playoff dream, but at least Palace weren't gaining ground on us before we'd kicked off. Although how Palace didn't get that penalty beggars belief. Poor old Paul Hart nearly had a mental breakdown chasing down 4th official, and Plymouth-match-abandoner Gavin Ward. Hart must use all his luck up getting jobs in the top two divisions, because he certainly doesn't get any on the pitch.

The walk to the ground seemed quieter than normal. I think a few people were fearing the worst today, given our recent form and their burning desire to end their poor run against us. I certainly was.

As the teams walked out, you could practically hear the shock echoing around the ground. Where was Boggy? Or Macken? Is that Andy Gray?? And Anderson? It was a totally different Barnsley team to the one we've seen recently. As it dawned on people that we were playing 4-5-1, confidence began draining from the crowd, certainly where we were sat. 4-5-1 at home?? Very negative tactics, and it showed straight away.

The game started, and even with 5 across the middle we were being totally outplayed. Nobody seemed able to keep the ball, something which Donny have proved themselves more than capable of doing. Before long, it was looking more of a case of when they scored, rather than if.

In all honesty, Robins seemed to spot the problem early as well and was quick to change things. Whether Teixeira was going off before his injury is debatable, but clearly our gameplan, which was to stifle the visitors and stop them playing their usual game, was not working. Boggy came on, and we switched to 4-4-2, and immediately began to get more of a foothold in the game.

Billy Sharp was causing a nuisance of himself and taking a battering from the crowd, although it was obvious that if he scored, we were getting it back ten fold. I couldn't bear the thought of his piggy face gloating if he hit the back of the net though.

The goal came as a sucker punch, and was as soft as any we've given away recently. Coppinger picked the ball up on the edge of the area, and eventually got the chance to curl the ball into the bottom corner. The defence stood off, and stood off, and then looked at each other totally bemused when the ball hit the net. Billy Blunt was straight onto the ball, smashing it into the net again and celebrating in front of the Ponty. God I hate him. To be fair though, after the verbal abuse he'd taken, he was well within his rights to dish some back out. Not long after, he shushed the Ponty End after he mishit a cross, and again took some abuse from the crowd. It's all part of the fun, although I'd be pretty surprised to see him in a Barnsley shirt next season after that.

The Donny fans were rightly enjoying themselves now, although we were still in the game, and hit the bar right before the half time whistle. Still, we'd been here before; 0-1 down at half time last season, nobody would have predicted what was coming next. And yesterday, after half time we were playing with much more desire and passion, and Donny were sitting further and further back, inviting us on them. We carved out some good chances, although they nearly caught us on the break a couple of times. Their ability to pass the ball well helps them out in all positions on the pitch, and a couple of times they managed to break a Barnsley attack up, and quickly hit us on the counter due to slick, passing movement.

As the match wore on, we had some glorious opportunities, mainly Colace, who should have been bursting the net with that first volley, although Old Man Sullivan pulled off a superb stop to keep it out. By the end, we seemed to run out of steam, and by the time the full time whistle arrived, Donny had weathered the worst of the storm. They'd finally got their Oakwell Championship win.

Their fans went mad, of course. After John Ryans comments in the press during the build up to this game, about us and them overtaking both Sheffield clubs and being top dogs in South Yorkshire next season, they probably saw this as some sort of statement of intent. Of course, it also put them above the Pigs in the table, meaning they were officially the top team in South Yorkshire. There's not many times I've wanted the Pigs to win, but I hope they trounce Scunny today and take it back from the Pikeys.

Hammill got the MOM award, although both Shotton and Moore might feel a bit aggrieved, as they both had decent games. Nobody played particularly badly, but too many played like it was a practice match. It was a pedestrian performance, and at this level, teams will take advantage of that.

Radio Sheffield was unbearable, as you'd imagine. Total football, sexy football, outplayed, outpassed, many different terms were used, surprisingly mostly from fans who'd not managed to make the game. Personally, I think a draw would have been fairer, but given the result at the Keepmoat earlier in the season, I think it's been evened out. Credit to Donny, there's no denying they can play. But my God, don't they just let you know it.

I was in a lousy mood all night after that result, but I've calmed down a little bit now.

I've tried to keep away from forums since the game, and allow the dust to settle a bit. We played like the season was over already, and MR has accurately described this as "unacceptable". I just hope people don't overreact too much to this, because we've achieved so much this season and it would be a shame to end it on such a sour note. I actually heard someone say they felt Robins was losing his grip, which I thought was unbelievable after the season we've had. Lets keep some perspective. It was a bad result and nowhere near the best of our ability, but we still have the right man at the helm, and we'll come good again.

I won't be at Plymouth midweek, so next time out for me will be the Pigs at Bramall Lane. After 3 straight defeats, one in a local derby, hopefully the performance will be better, the players will want it more, and we can give them what we owe them. I can't wait.

Thanks for reading.

3 comments:

  1. No credit for the opposition? They outplayed you, like they do every time and finally got their reward. Looks like another relegation battle for the Championships basement boys.

    We couldn't beat Scunny for you, but we'll hand you another lesson on Saturday anyway. We'll always be number one in South Yorkshire. One good season doesn't write off the previous 2 decades. You lot should know that more than anyone, since you're still dining out on that Premiership season.

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  2. Oh, you were at the game then Blade?? If yes, then thank you for your contribution to the funds of a club you clearly think about a lot. If not, then how do you know they outplayed us? Because they certainly didn't in the second half. It's all there above, maybe try reading it again...?

    And as for us dining out on past glories? Hello pot, meet kettle...

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  3. We were better in first half, held on in second a bit but deserved it overall!!

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