Josh Meade's first half strike ensures Rovers progress to the second round of the FA Youth Cup.
FA Youth Cup, 1st Round
Doncaster Rovers Youth 1 Morecambe Youth 0
Referee – Mr Liam Jones
Attendance – 208
No sooner had the game kicked off when the heavens opened and the rain came down like stair rods. Fortunately it only lasted five minutes and then suddenly dropped to just a drizzle. Meanwhile Morecambe had got the game underway and went straight on to the attack. A cross came in from the left to the far post for Walker to head back to the middle but the Rovers defence was there to clear. A minute later and Finnegan went past one defender in the penalty area but was then tackled and dispossessed as he tried to make space to shoot. Even play followed but in the 10th minute the Rovers struck when Middleton played the ball through for MEADE to run on goal and rifle a low shot into the corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area. The visitors tried to hit back and gained a succession of corners, with the first one, in the 15th minute, headed on goal at the far post by Riley but Busby, in the Rovers goal, brilliantly tipped it over the bar. The second one was punched away by Busby to Houghton of Morecambe, who shot over from 25yards. Another one was cleared. The Rovers then got more into the game and won a free kick on their left when Finnegan was clattered by Bell in the 25th minute. Finnegan got up and placed the ball across the face of goal but nobody from either side got a touch on it. Even play ensued until the 36th minute when a free kick from the visitors right was punched away by Busby. The play ran down to added time when Morecambe had another corner that was easily cleared by the Rovers defence. There was no lack of effort from both sides to add to the score-line but neither keeper was troubled unduly.
Half Time – Doncaster Rovers Yth 1 Morecambe Yth 0
The Rovers got the second half underway and spent the early minutes on the attack. Four minutes in and Finnegan received on the left, cut in and hit a low right foot drive that Cookson, in the visiting goal, could only tip round a post. Two more corners to the Rovers over the next five minutes came to nothing then just before the hour Morecambe claimed successive corners without any tangible result. Then, in the 66th minute, Wearing received the ball on the Morecambe left from finne and some deft footwork got him past a defender before firing just over the bar from 15yards. A corner to Morecambe in the 70th minute was well caught by Busby on his goal-line before he set up a Rovers attack down the right. Whitehouse received the ball and rounding one defender shot from close range for the near corner only to se a Morecambe defender appear and block the ball at the expense of a corner. Continuing to attack, this time down the left, another corner was forced by the Rovers. They were having the better of the possession but couldn’t put the game to bed. In the 77th minute Finnegan tried his luck from 30yards but the keeper saved comfortably. Then, three minutes later, the visitors gained a corner, which was cleared off the line by Burnyeat. Time ran down, with the Rovers holding on to their lead and try as Morecambe would they couldn’t get that all important equaliser.
Result – Doncaster Rovers 1 Morecambe 0
Teams – ROVERS Youth – Aaron Busby; Mitchell Lund, Jordan Binns, Scott Brown, Jacob Dawson; Billy Whitehouse, Joshua Meade, Harry Middleton ©, Evan Finnegan; Alex Peterson, Ryan Burnyeat
Subs used – Jack Steadman for Whitehouse 86 mins;
Subs not used –Spencer Lund, Jack McKay, Paul McKay, Callum Myers gk
Morecambe – Jack Cookson; Luke Selby, Kieron Brittan, Will Bell ©, Matthew Knipe, Lewis Finney, Robbie Walker, Kieran Sloan, James Riley, Simon Wearing, Sam Houghton
Subs not used – Chris Suthers, Robbie Hunter, Kyle Lewis, Sean Johnson, Aaran McGowan