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Classic Match report - Carling Cup 4th round 2005
29/11/2005 Belle Vue, Doncaster: Attendance: 10,590
Doncaster Rovers: Seremet, Fenton, Roberts, Foster, Mulligan, Coppinger, Thornton, Ravenhill, McIndoe, Heffernan, Guy(Green 87).
Aston Villa: Sorensen, Hughes, Mellberg, Ridgewell, Samuel (Phillips 60), Milner, Davis, McCann, Barry, Angel, Baros.
Villa can not have been relishing the visit to Belle Vue on a frosty night, to meet the League one side who despatched their Premiership colleagues Manchester City in the last round. David O'Leary the Villa boss would need to make sure his boys were up for it, on a night not for the faint hearted. A full strength Villa side appeared to indicate his intentions clearly.
The noisy home crowd of over 10,000 were reminded, before kick off, of past glory in the same competition with the introduction of Brendan O'Callaghan & Peter Kitchen - who both played when Doncaster reached the Quarter Final 30 years ago.
Doncaster showed their attacking intentions from the off, forcing early corners and having the bulk of play, with Villa's efforts restricted to counter attacks.
This was not, however, a case of the Lower League side just showing more steel and determination than their privileged counterparts; they were also playing the better football.
Early on in the game, Thornton & McIndoe in midfield and Heffernan & Guy upfront showed slick ability and teamwork to continually cause problems to a hesitant defence. McIndoe, whether forging down the left flank, or cutting inside looked dangerous whenever in posession.
Mulligan tested Sorensen early, making him save low down and Lewis Guy, who was showing first for everything had a good penalty shout turned down by the referee.
When the breakthrough came in the 19th minute, it was certainly not against the run of play, but the award of the penalty for a handball by Liam Ridgewell seemed to be a little soft. Perhaps the ref' remembered the one he had denied earlier.
McIndoe showed great confidence, as he would do all game, when he stepped up to take the spot kick. This was placed with consumate ease down low to the bottom right corner, with his left foot.
Villa, if they did not think it before, knew they were in a game. They would have to raise their game quickly or be swept aside by the now brimmingly confident Donny.
Everyone watching expected Villa to redouble their efforts and produce a swift riposte, but it did not come. In fact Doncaster continued to press the issue, with their midfield now dominant, and were unlucky not to go further ahead befor half time when Coppinger's effort was blocked by Samuel.
Whilst the Doncaster strikers were eager and recurring recipients of the ball, the Villa front two, the Internationally capped pairing of Baros & Angel seemed to drift further from the play with their supply lines stunted.
When half time came, it was O'Leary who surely welcomed it more than his counterpart, Dave Penney. Surely he could instill a Villa revival during the interval.
The early stages of the second half showed that Doncaster were not about to let up the pace, and they would continue to threaten Sorensens goal. At the other end, Seremet would have little in the way of real saves to make. The only real glimpses of quality from Villa came from Gareth Barry & James Milner who both, along with the less effective Baros worked tirelessly all night.
Baros may feel unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty as well, when he was definitely caught in the box. Maybe the decisions evened themselves out and, almost certainly, a Villa penalty would not have affected the outcome anyway.
The second goal on 53 minutes was a neat move, with a direct ball out of defence from Mulligan expertly cushioned by Guy with a precise return pass into the stride of Heffernan, who strode on to side foot the ball home, giving the 'keeper no chance at all.
Cue pandemonium in the home stands and utter dejection amongst the travelling support. Still, there was plenty of time for a revival, similar to the one Villa provided in the previous round, when 2-0 down to Wycombe Wanderers.
O'Leary introduced Kevin Phillips as a third striker, on for the truly awful J Lloyd Samuel who literally didn't put a foot right all night. Still the fight back never came.
For the rest of the night the Doncaster side dominated. Solid at the back, they marshalled the potent Villa strikeforce easily & made few errors, preferring the perhaps forgotten art of 'If in doubt, hoof it out' on the few occasions they came under pressure.
The Donny midfield were truly inspired, all putting in quality performances, with masterful displays coming from McIndoe and Thornton. For me, Thornton just edged the M.O.M performance, and his goal that wrapped up the tie was well deserved.
Cutting inside onto his right he unleashed a measured right foot curler towards the 'Keepers left top corner. There appeared to be a slight deflection as he hit the ball, but the end destination was never in doubt, with Sorensen never close to it.
The two up front continued to cause the Villa defence problems, and Heffernan again went close with minutes to go.
Doncaster Rovers finished the game as they started, on top & in control. Every man in their side can be proud of their performance on the night.
The same cannot be said of Villa's stars who can only have disappointed their travelling support, frozen in the stands, with their inability to trouble the League One outfit. The visitors supporters' were not the only things that froze on the night.
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