Doncaster 2 Colchester 0: Williams settling in to new Rovers challenge
The club’s marquee signing of the summer was expected to provide the goals to launch a promotion bid, having helped Swindon reach the League One play-off final last season by netting 22.
However, the goals have dried up for the 28-year-old this season and Rovers have found themselves at the wrong end of the table, prompting a change of manager.
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Hide AdBut, having scored the decisive second goal which ensured victory for new manager Darren Ferguson in his first home game in charge after three matches on the road under him, Williams believes things can only get better.
Rovers are out of the drop zone and after his fourth goal in 20 games, including two in the League Cup, Williams said: “The new gaffer had a good few chats with me, and at a time when I finally got my wife and young child up here. It was perfect timing really. It freshened me up and I have felt really good.
“People don’t usually appreciate the difficulty associated with making a move. It should not be an excuse, but we had a lot of problems with our move and when you have a wife and a child you want to spend time with them.
“I have been away from them for three and a half months, which wasn’t easy, but it’s nice now we are settled in and the family come up a lot more and stay with us rather than in the hotel. That makes life a lot better and a win on the back of that means I can go home happy for a change.
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Hide Ad“I always have a goals target, but I never share it and I am the sort of striker who needs three to five chances to get a goal, but I wasn’t even getting one in some games. Things have certainly changed now. We showed what we are capable of and why we should be higher up the league than where we are.”
He reserved praise for Coppinger, who equalled Rovers’ all-time appearances record of 468 set by Colin Douglas in two spells for the club between 1981 and 1993.
Nothing had gone right for the club legend in the first half until he set up Everton loanee debutant Conor Grant to delightfully curl the ball into the top corner after Cedric Evina’s initial cross had eluded the strikers in the 41st minute.
It still looked as though it was not going to be Coppinger’s day when he was freed down the midle after the break but delayed his shot and was knocked off balance by Tosin Olufemi and wasted the opportunity.
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Hide AdClass is permanent, however, and after Andy Butler had almost sliced the ball into his own net, Rovers broke from a corner.
Cameron Stewart hit the ball up the line where Coppinger spun off Olufemi, bore down on goal and unselfishly squared to set up a goal on a plate for Williams in the 64th minute.
“Copps has got the quality to do that all day long. He was brilliant getting in behind them and it was a perfect ball for me, having just enough on it to commit the goalkeeper and leave me to slot into an empty net. It was lovely. I will take 20 of them all season,” enthused Williams, who enjoyed a fine partnership with Nathan Tyson as Keshi Anderson was ruled out for a third successive game with a foot injury.
Regarding the impact of Ferguson, watched by father Sir Alex, Williams continued: “The manager has been really positive.
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Hide Ad“He has got that right mentality around the place and has everyone that bit more on edge because he has that stigma (sic) about him.
“On top of that, the way he has got us playing is a lot more positive and everyone knows their roles and what they have to do. He has got people feeding the strikers and a lot has been made about us not scoring but, for me, the chances hadn’t been coming so I wasn’t frustrated in that respect. When I came here we had aspirtations of getting promoted but then found ourselves sitting in the bottom three or four and you don’t want to be there. That frustrates you.”
Ferguson admitted his side made a nervous start, Thorsten Stuckmann making important saves from George Moncur and the ever-dangerous Callum Harriott before palming off the line a fierce 70th-minute close-range header from Darren Ambrose.
But the manager was heartened by the way his side picked up the tempo after the break. Tyson narrowly failed to connect with a through ball and substitute Curtis Main wasted a glorious chance to make the game safe even though Ferguson wisely went to a more defensive 4-4-2.
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Hide AdHe had started with three at the back protected by emerging youngster Harry Middleton, who got the nod over Richie Wellens as Grant made his bow.
The Evertonian will soon be joined at Rovers by full-back Felipe Mattioni, who has joined the Goodison club from Espanyol, even though the search for another defender continues this week after Rob Jones suffered a head injury in training after a collision with Butler.
Midfield man Oscar Gobern has also been ruled out with a nasty cruciate knee ligament injury suffered in the same session.
Doncaster Rovers: Stuckmann, Lund, Butler, Taylor-Sinclair; Middleton; Stewart (McCullough 67), Coppinger, Grant, Evina (Keegan 79); Tyson, Williams (Main 74). Unused substitutes: Wellens, Forrester, Mandeville, Marosi.
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Hide AdColchester United: Jones, Olufemi, Eastman, Elekobi (Kent 64), Briggs; Gilbey, Garvan; Ambrose (Bonne 72), Moncur, Harriott; Sordell. Unused substitutes: Edwards, Lapslie, Sembie-Ferris, Curtis, Parish.
Referee: G Salisbury (Lancs).