Stats concerning Doncaster Rovers this season.
Games against bottom seven teams
Rovers have adopted the Championship winning trait often attributed to Manchester United of always finding a way to win the games they are expected to. In Rovers games against the current bottom seven sides in the division they have won a startling 10 out of 13 games with draws against Hartlepool and Portsmouth and a single loss to Bury away.
Games against the bottom end of the table have already been a happy stomping ground for the club this season, winning 83.3 % of matchups so far with one more to play.
Winning at HT, Win at FT?
The answer is a resounding YES! Rovers have won 90% of the games they were winning at half time this season showing a steady nerve to see games through. This particular stat suggests that Dean Saunders and now Brian Flynn have been getting it right in the changing room with their half time team talks all season, lifting the side for a second effort after half time.
Only winning by a single goal? No need to panic
Rovers have won a league high 12 games by a single goal this season, proving that this team not only has ice in the veins but are prepared to do those intangible and often unnoticed extra efforts in order to win in close games.
Whether it’s blocking goal bound shots or tracking a player backwards to help out the defence the team have ensure positive half time score lines do not go to waste. This all looks promising for the final stage of the season but doesn’t do much for the fans’ already well-bitten fingernails.
Drawn or lost from a winning position?
That agonising draw against Sheffield United, who pegged back those two goals in the final minutes, was the one of only two occasions from the seventeen games drawn or lost this season where Rovers dropped points from a winning position.
Again reflecting the team’s resilience to hold on to winning starts, Rovers have converted a staggering percentage of leads in games into winning outcomes. If the Stats are anything to go by, Rovers taking the lead in a game quite often results in a win. Thou shalt not pass!
Get the most out of what you’ve got
Remember Liverpool winning the league with 16 players in the 1960’s? Well after Hartlepool, who have used 20 players this season, it is Rovers who have used the second lowest number totalling just 24 players this season. The stat is even more impressive when you consider that Rovers are top of the league going into the final eight games and four of the players used have been Loanees.
Experience counts
“You never win anything with kids” were the Immortal words of Alan Hansen but with the joint highest average age of 27 years maybe he was onto something. Rovers have fused experience with youth brilliantly this season in a side that has occupied no lower than 12 place all year and boasts the best away record in the league.