Rovers U18s re-gained top spot in the Football Youth Alliance North East division after a comprehensive victory over Chesterfield.
Tuesday, 2nd April 2013 at Cylinders Sports Ground, Chesterfield
Football Youth Alliance North East
Chesterfield Youth 0 Doncaster Rovers Youth 3
The Rovers Youth team visited the Chesterfield FC training ground to play a re-arranged match and came away with a terrific win. They retain the top position but the battle between the Rovers and Hull City looks like going right down to the wire.
On a fine, sunny afternoon but with a chilly breeze the Rovers took the game to the home team and really they never allowed Chesterfield to get a grip, although in the first twenty minutes the home team had a fair portion of the game.
The first chance went to the Rovers in the 3rd minute when Peterson received the ball on the edge of the home penalty area and lifted the ball goalwards. It was dropping under the bar until the keeper got a fingertip to it and put it over the bar for a corner. Chesterfield responded with a shot from distance that went wide. Minutes later Whincop had a shot saved and shortly after a corner was headed on by Peterson but the former put wide with an overhead kick.
Back came Chesterfield and tried to chip Myers but he caught it easily. A couple of corners to the home team came to nothing and then the Rovers just seemed to take over. Whitehouse received the ball just outside the area and hit a half just wide.
Past the half hour and a good build-up by the Rovers ended with Whincop back-heeling to Peterson, who laid it back for Middleton to get in a good shot from about 15yards that the keeper pushed out for a corner. Finnegan swung the ball in from the corner on the right and PETERSON flew through a group of players to put bullet a diving header past the keeper and the Rovers were in the lead in the 33rd minute.
Minutes later and Peterson played in Whincop down the inside right channel but his shot was again pushed out by the keeper for a corner. As time ran down to the break, Whitehouse turned and hit a shot from the edge of the area wide of goal and then had a shot charged down into the path of Peterson but the keeper saved his shot. In the final minutes Whincop fired wide and with the last action of the half Myers was called upon to catch a header from the home side.
Half Time: Chesterfield Youth 0-1 Doncaster Rovers Youth
Whitehouse was in the thick of things early in the second half when he put wide from close range and after Myers easily saved a shot from the Chesterfield left, the same Rovers player had a shot deflected for a corner.
Then, in the 52nd minute, Whitehouse got to the left byline, put inside to Peterson, who gave the ball to MIDDLETON and the Rovers captain slammed it into the net from close range. Spencer Lund put over a good cross that produced another corner and Middleton was stopped in full flow as he bore down on goal before Finnegan, in the 56th minute, put over a cracking cross that Peterson, with nobody near him, put wide from a glancing header.
Past the hour and Whincop tried to curl the ball into the far corner but it went wide and then in the 64th minute the Rovers added a third goal. A long ball out of the Rovers defence found PETERSON with two defenders standing wide of him just inside the Chesterfield half. He controlled the ball well and took off for goal leaving the home defenders in his wake before slotting the ball past the oncoming keeper.
Chesterfield rang the changes and as the last fifteen minutes came up they tried hard to get something from the game but their efforts proved to be in vain leaving the Rovers with a comfortable victory from a good team performance.
Rovers team – Callum Myers; Mitchell Lund, Evan Finnegan (Jacob Dawson 58 mins), Harry Middleton ©, Jordan Binns, Scott Brown, Spencer Lund (Lewis Ferguson 69 mins), Josh Meade, Alex Peterson, Chris Whincop (Callum Terrell 78 mins), Billy Whitehouse