Saturday 4th October, Glanford Park (3pm), Sky Bet League One.
Doncaster Rovers make the short journey along the M180 on Saturday to face old foes Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park.There will be some friendly faces in the Iron ranks though, most notably United manager Russ Wilcox, who spent two years as a player during the late nineties in South Yorkshire with Rovers.
Wilcox took over from long serving manager and friend Brian Laws to win promotion from League 2 last season, however a poor start to the season has amplified the gulf in class between the third and fourth tiers.
Rovers, also, are a side who haven’t had the best of starts to the season and the recent form of Paul Dickov’s side doesn’t make for pleasant or comfortable reading.
The two clubs were two divisions apart last season and if the Keepmoat outfit want to put daylight between themselves and the Iron again, they will have to replicate the form and mentality which saw them claim the League One title the last time they were in this division.
As yet it has appeared elusive, but Dickov will be hoping for a repeat of the 12/13 season in which Rovers scored seven against United.
Following a 4-0 thrashing at the Keepmoat in late 2012, Rovers moved heaven and earth…and snow to get the return clash on.
It was to Rovers’ benefit, however they were given a helping hand when David Mirfin put through his own goal after five minutes. Iain Hume put Brian Flynn’s men in the driving seat when he was gifted a goal on the stroke of half time, though future Rover Mark Duffy struck a sweet free kick at the end of the first period to cast some uncertainty in to the final result.
Chris Brown put the seal on a frosty afternoon moments after the break, and Karl Hawley’s late consolation was comfortably seen off – in steadfast fashion – by the Yorkshiremen.
Last time out (23rd March '13):
Scunthorpe 2 (Duffy, 41; Hawley, 85)
Doncaster 3 (Mirfin OG, 5; Hume, 39; Brown, 48)
League 1
Glanford Park
Attendance – 5288
SUFC – E Johansen, T Newey, D Mirfin (N Canavan, 46), E Nolan, P Reid, A Forde (A Barcham, 53), M Collins, J Ryan, M Duffy, K Hawley, A Sodje (M Grella, 71)
DRFC – G Woods, J McCombe, P Quinn, T Spurr, J Husband, R Jones, J Lundstram, J Coppinger, D Cotterill, C Brown, I Hume (B Paynter, 82)
Head to head league results (in Scunthorpe):
Scunthorpe - 7
Rovers – 8
Draws – 12
Team News:
Rovers – The visitors look likely to recall Jed Steer (hip), Reece Wabara (fever) and Nathan Tyson (concussion). Doubts remain over Curtis Main (knee), while Rob Jones will not play against his former club.
Scunthorpe – Dave Syers, an ex-Rover, is a long term absentee as is Niall Canavan. Deon Burton and David Mirfin could continue their respective spells on the sidelines.
Fancy a flutter? Rovers 13/8, Draw 9/4, Scunthorpe 13/8
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