Tommy Rowe aside, Doncaster Rovers show little fight for relegation battle to leave Gary McSheffrey questioning mentality

Talent without the belief to use it is pretty futile. Pretty futile summed up Doncaster Rovers on Saturday.

It took Gillingham longer to kick off than to score the only goal of a desperately low-quality match between what looked a lot like League Two sides in waiting.

More damning even than the football was manager Gary McSheffrey’s response when asked if he thought his players believe they can avoid relegation: “I believe some of them think that, maybe not everybody.”

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After a minute’s applause for Ukraine, Gillingham players taking the knee and two aborted kick-offs as over-eager players encroached (there was yet another at the start of the second half), Neil Harris’s side needed just 47 seconds to score.

Driving force: Tommy Rowe showed the requisite minerals for the relegation battle but it was lacking in others.(Picture: Tony Johnson)Driving force: Tommy Rowe showed the requisite minerals for the relegation battle but it was lacking in others.(Picture: Tony Johnson)
Driving force: Tommy Rowe showed the requisite minerals for the relegation battle but it was lacking in others.(Picture: Tony Johnson)

Rovers put the ball out, then let Ryan Jackson’s throw-in bounce in the box before Charlie Kelman headed in.

How they could have done with commanding centre-back Tom Anderson, who tore fibres in his foot in the last days of training for what was meant to be his comeback.

“It’s not great giving a throw-in away after 10 seconds when it’s their main weapon,” understated McSheffrey.

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The goal shaped the game, muscular Gillingham playing bully-boys for the rest of the first half, Doncaster submissive.

All the Gills’ threats came from long balls and throws towards the giant Vadine Oliver – if you’ve got it, flaunt it – and if it was a not-very-obvious-on-the-eye injury Ben Jackson came off with after 27 minutes as McSheffrey suggested, it was a happy coincidence because he looked out of his depth at left wing-back.

Matt Smith came on as a deep-lying playmaker and stood out just by wanting the ball but it meant Rowe shifting into Jackson’s position.

Despite McSheffrey’s criticism on the goal, Rowe showed leadership and drive throughout, seemingly taking it on himself to deal with Oliver in the air when in central midfield, later coming infield from wing-back to demand the ball and push centre-back Joseph Olowu onto the flank to overlap.

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With a header over at a corner, a shot from a tight angle and another just wide, he was the main second-half goal threat.

“Whoever you put in (central midfield), you miss his intensity, his physicality, his quality, his know-how,” admitted McSheffrey. “But when Ben came off he was the only other left-footer.”

In the second half, Gillingham let Rovers push some pleasant possession football knowing few of them had the courage to play anything other than safe passes.

Apart from Smith and Rowe, only Josh Martin showed any gumption, but it was hard to get the ball to him in the hole of a 3-4-1-2 at times, and when they did he was often far from goal. Mipo Odubeko barely saw the thing and strike partner Joe Dodoo only when helping out defensively.

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Martin came closest to equalising, former Rovers loanee Pontus Dahlberg’s save from his curling 87th-minute shot bouncing just wide off team-mate David Tutonda.

“We played some nice stuff second half but we just didn’t have that cutting edge,” said McSheffrey. “You just need to put it in the mixer a little bit more. When we get to 40, 35 yards out on the angle it’s a good crossing position and we chose to turn back a bit too much.”

Arsenal loanee Smith agreed.

“It’s risk and reward, isn’t it?” he said. “Josh Martin is direct and willing to take risks. We need a bit of magic really.”

Rovers’ ability has won four of their last 12 matches but three games into a run of four against relegation rivals, their only point came after giving Wimbledon a 2-0 headstart.

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“We can’t hammer them because some don’t respond well to being hammered, that’s society today,” argued McSheffrey.

But as the full-time boos underlined, they cannot carry on like this either.

Doncaster Rovers: Mitchell; Knoyle, Williams, Olowu; Seaman (Barlow 76), Rowe, Galbraith, Jackson (Smith 27); Martin; Odubeko, Dodoo (Hiwula 76). Unused substitutes: Jones, Bostock, Gardner, Agard.

Gillingham: Dahlberg; Tucker, Ehmer, Masterson; Jackson (Tutonda 41), O’Keefe, Lee, McKenzie; Thompson; Kelman (Chambers 74), Oliver. Unused substitutes: Dickson-Peters, Reeves, Chapman, Lintott, Maghoma.

Referee: A Backhouse (Carlisle).

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