Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City add to noteworthy list of late-season seminal showdowns involving Yorkshire clubs

It is could well be enhanced by events in 2024-25.

A compelling joust to finish in the Championship’s top two may now be settled two games early with Leeds United basking in the glow of rubber-stamping a Premier League return, while Sheffield United reload their guns for the play-offs following a seminal Easter, but there is drama and intrigue elsewhere to hog the limelight. Try League Two.

Across the White Rose, the sight of teams battling for promotion or scrambling to remain in its respective leagues at the end of seasons has been commonplace over many years. Scratch below the surface and there have been subplots and fiendish fixture quirks. Like Saturday.

In years gone by, it has hardly been unusual for county sides to be competing against each other to move out of divisions or stay in them. Which is more rare is for rivals to square off at the end of term in a head-to-head.

It’s not quite a winner-takes-all scenario for both Doncaster Rovers and Bradford City at the Eco-Power Stadium on Saturday, but it’s as near as dammit.

Rovers will be promoted if they beat the Bantams in their final home match of 24-25. It may also be the precursor to the title.

Meanwhile, there’s the potential for third–placed City to go up with a game to spare, along with Doncaster, if they win and Walsall lose at home to Accrington. What a love-in that would be for supporters of both Bradford and Rovers.

Speaking of shared affections brings us to perhaps the most famous late-season fixture involving two sides from the Broad Acres.

That arrived on ‘Survival Saturday’ at Huddersfield’s John Smith’s Stadium on May 4, 2013 where a special afternoon saw relieved Town and Barnsley fans bask in the glow of retaining their second-tier status after a 2-2 draw. Cries of ‘Yorkshire, Yorkshire’ echoed around the stadium at the end.

Peterborough-born Reds keeper Luke Steele was at the centre of one of strangest finales ever seen at a football match, with both sides effectively downing tools late on, mindful they were safe after Posh went behind at Crystal Palace.

The sight of Steele with the ball at his feet, in open play, for fully two minutes with home and away players urging him to keep it and leaving him unchallenged harkened back to the famous Germany versus Austria ‘Anschluss’ game in the 1982 World Cup.

Just a week earlier, another all-Yorkshire affair, this time at Oakwell, had seen struggling Barnsley claim a survival lifeline by beating Hull 2-0 in their final home game of 2012-13 to stop Hull from sealing automatic promotion on the penultimate weekend.

Seven days later, the Tigers did manage that, just, with a bit of help elsewhere from Leeds, who did Hull a huge favour versus Watford.

Towards the end of 2015-16, Leeds did not do their East Yorkshire rivals such a good turn with a late goal from Stuart Dallas ending Hull's hopes of automatic promotion.

Sadly, supporters weren't present for some drama at end of Covid-affected 2019-20 when Leeds took a giant step towards ending their 16-year wait for promotion to the Premier League by edging out bottom-of-the-table Barnsley 1-0, thanks to an own goal from Michael Sollbauer.

Huddersfield's win over West Brom the following night led to celebrations for Leeds, while also securing the Terriers’ safety. Barnsley would then win their final two games to record a remarkable ‘Great Escape.’

Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out so well at the end.

A pivotal day at Doncaster’s ex-Belle Vue home in 2004 saw York City’s demotion to the Conference, after 75 years as a league club, confirmed following defeat at promoted Rovers, while in late 1989, Sheffield Wednesday beat Middlesbrough to secure their top-flight status and relegate Boro.

One of the most memorable of all late-spring all-Yorkshire occasions arrived at Oakwell in 1997, the 28th anniversary of which arrives on Saturday.

Barnsley secured promotion to the Premier League, beating Bradford 2-0 at Oakwell. The fact that City avoided relegation ensured there were no tears of despair in the away end to go with those of joy among Reds.

Back to the present-day, with Doncaster and Bradford both aiming to follow the lead of Leeds in hopefully clinching promotion by season’s end, while at least one other in Sheffield United are destined for the play-offs.

As it stands, four sides from Gods’ own county could go up at the end of a campaign. It has happened just twice since league reorganisation in 1958.

In 1983-84, Wednesday, United, York and Doncaster were celebrating, while Hull, Rovers, Rotherham United and Bradford were promoted in 2013.