Doncaster Rovers

Rovers are on the road in Sky Bet League Two this weekend when they take on Mansfield Town.

Danny Schofield’s side haven’t played a league game since January 7, after scheduled fixtures against Crawley Town and Tranmere Rovers were both postponed.

Rovers are set to be backed by more than 1700 travelling fans at the One Call Stadium.

The last meeting

Mansfield came out on top when the two sides last met at the Eco-Power Stadium back in September.

The Stags took the lead in the first half thanks to a fine volley from Ollie Clarke, before a Lee Tomlin penalty levelled the scores just before the break.

George Maris then put Mansfield in front for a second time, before Lucas Akins’ penalty 17 minutes from the end of the game secured three points for the visitors.

Mansfield’s recent form

Mansfield have won one of their previous six league outings, stretching back to a goalless draw at Stevenage on December 10. They backed that up with another good point on the road at promotion chasing Northampton Town, before ending 2022 with a 2-1 win at Hartlepool United.

Nigel Clough’s side have found results harder to come by since the turn of the year, having initially lost at Walsall on New Year’s Day. They were then 2-0 up at home to Barrow before letting that lead slip, and went on to lose 3-2 at the One Call Stadium.

Their last league outing saw them draw 1-1 at home to Crewe, which saw George Maris in the thick of the action after scoring the opener before being shown a red card late. 

Key men

Stephen McLaughlin joined Mansfield in the summer of 2020 from Southend United. 

The Irishman first made the move to England in 2003 to sign for Nottingham Forest from Derry City.  During his time at the City Ground, McLaughlin spent time out on loan with Notts County and Southend, before making the move to Roots Hall permanent in 2015.

Capable of playing at left back or on the wing, he spent five seasons with the Shrimpers, making 177 appearances before moving to the One Call Stadium.

The 32-year-old has established himself as a key player for Nigel Clough’s side, and the game against Crewe last time out marked his 100th league appearance for the club. His is five short of 50 league goals in his career.

Irish midfielder Stephen Quinn brings a wealth of experience to the Mansfield side with more than 600 career appearances to his name.

After making his name with Sheffield United over a seven-year spell which included promotion to the Premier League, Quinn signed for Hull City in 2012 and tasted success in both league and cup competitions with the Tigers. After a spell with Reading, the 36-year-old first linked up with manager Nigel Clough at Burton, where he played more than 100 times in three seasons, before following Clough to Nottinghamshire.

He has featured regularly for the Stags and scored his first goal of the season in the recent game against Barrow.

Pontefract-born striker Rhys Oates started his career with Barnsley and made 10 first-team appearances for the Reds before signing for Hartlepool in 2015.

He would go on to have two spells at Victoria Park, either side of two seasons with Morecambe. Oates scored 18 goals in 41 appearances for Pools in the 2020/21 campaign, which helped Pools win promotion to the EFL alongside current Rovers man Luke Molyneux. 

Oates joined Mansfield that summer and scored 12 goals in Sky Bet League Two last season, helping the Stags reach the play-off places. He has missed a large chunk of the current campaign through injury, but has already scored twice since his return and will be looking to build on his four goals so far in the second half of the season.