Weston Homes Community Stadium, Sat 23rd August 2014, Sky Bet League One.
Paul Dickov’s Doncaster Rovers hit the road again this Saturday looking for another three points. A fortnight on from their opening day win at Yeovil, Rovers face the long trip to winless Colchester, following a tough time of it at home.Dickov’s men only gained one point from a possible six at the Keepmoat Stadium last week, but will be hoping that their away form can prove dividends against a winless United.
Rovers did the double over the Essex outfit during the 2012/13 season which provided Dean Saunders’ side with their only ever visit to the Weston Homes Community Stadium.
Saunders’ countryman David Cotterill got Rovers off to a flyer when he let rip from 35 yards after an error in the Colchester defence allowed the Welshman to thunder an effort in with less than 180 seconds on the watch.
Magnus Okounghae responded on the half hour mark for the hosts as he prodded through a clutch of bodies past a despairing Gary Woods.
Cotterill was at it again straight after half time, though, and his expert free kick was put through his own goal by Andy Bond for a routine win.
It was far from routine in the return fixture, but once again it would be left to Cotterill to make the difference. A run, which started inside his own half, gathered momentum as the winger jinked his way past four defenders and curled in from the angle of the box to settle proceedings 1-0 and net arguably one of the goals of the season.
Things weren’t always so good for the respective sides. Colchester, although seemingly insignificant at the time, proved to be Rovers’ final opposition in the 97/98 season before the Belle Vue club dropped out of the football league.
Luckily, they returned and found a new home and United also find themselves in pastures new at the new Weston Homes Community Stadium having moved from the atmospheric Layer Road in 2008.
Team News:
Rovers – Rob Jones (neck) is not as bad as first feared and should he not feature on Saturday, could be in contention for Tuesday's trip to Watford. Jamie McCombe is touch and go following a broken nose and bruised ribs, while Harry Forrester (suspension) and Curtis Main (knee) are certain to miss out.
Last meeting:
5th January 2013
Football League One
Doncaster Rovers 1 (Cotterill, 84)
Colchester United 0
Keepmoat Stadium
Attendance: 6373
Doncaster - G Woods, J McCombe, P Quinn, T Spurr, R Jones, D Cotterill (J Husband, 87), P Keegan, D Syers, E Sinclair (J Coppinger, 67), I Hume, K Bennett (L Fowler, 67).
Colchester - M Cousins, B Wilson, M Okuonghae, M Rose, J Thompson, D Wright (J Compton, 69), M Bean, A Wordsworth, K Izzet (A Bond, 77), D Samuel (G Porter, 87), G Massey.
Head to head (at Colchester):
Colchester 13
Rovers 5
Draws 3
Sky Bet Odds: Colchester 11/8; Draw 23/10; Rovers 19/10.
Join Tom Biltcliffe and Darren Neagle on Rovers Player from 2:45pm.