Inexperienced Doncaster Rovers make it child's play for Sunderland in 3-0 defeat

They had a great old time.

The yellow-shirted Black Cats did try to add to their 3-0 victory margin but not all that hard. It is Christmas, after all, and it was clear the home players had suffered enough.

They may have rebadged their home ground, christened the Eco-Power Stadium with this day the home fans will be trying furiously to forget, but the problems that got Richie Wellens the sack at the start of the month - both those he could control and those he could not - remain.

For most of the game Gary McSheffrey was almost on the field, his assistant Frank Sinclair not far behind bawling instructions. At one point the technical area traffic warden, Trevor Kettle, (verbally) pulled them back but with Tom Anderson missing through injury, they could see theirs was a team desperately needing some experience and some organisation.

In the opening half-hour alone they went from matching Sunderland's 3-4-2-1 to a Wellens-style 4-2-3-1 to moving Tommy Rowe onto the left wing of a 4-4-1-1 in a desperate attempt to stem the tide. There was no wave to drag the home players completely under, but they were barely keeping their heads above water.

To see a football club trying to give youth its chance is a nice though but it was hard not to feel sorry for the young boys trying their best to do a man's job. When manager's talking about not wanting to break youngsters by throwing them into a losing team, it is miserable afternoons like this they are imagining.

It started almost immediately.

Sunderland's right wing-back Leon Dajaku was playing so high it probably forced Branden Horton redeployment from wing-back to full-back and it certainly broke the deadlock.

Five minutes in Corry Evans overhit a pass to Dajaku but when he got on the ball again just outside the Rovers area two minutes later he drifted far too easily inside left-sided centre-back Ben Blythe - 19 years-old, one previous league start - and when Liam Ravenhill - a 19-year-old full debutant - flicked a leg out in desperation, Bobby Madley pointed to the penalty spot.

Ross Stewart converted.

As McSheffrey - in what is likely to be his final game as caretaker manager, though he could get the job permanently - and Sinclair shuffled the deckchairs, Sunderland continued to lap at their team's feet, former Huddersfield Town Premier League player Alex Pritchard having a whale of a time as the Black Cats midfield completely dominated. The audacity of the third goal would highlight that.

There was no lack of effort. Rowe plugged away trying his best to lead, 21-year-old Matt Smith (38 league starts) tried to get on the ball and start things in the absence of Ethan Galbraith (20, 18 starts) who was suffering the after-effects of Covid-19, and there was sympathetic applause when he was announced over the tannoy as the home team's man of the match. Lirak Hasani (19, two) played one really nice ball to Kyle Knoyle, albeit the cross came to nothing, Horten put a good tackle in when Stewart threatened to burst through.

The boos at half-time were not at a team not trying hard enough. The fact they were only highlighted how they were just one not good enough.

Goalkeeper Louis Jones (23, 16 league starts) showed their naivety, pulling outside of the penalty area on the right to offer himself to Joe Olowu for a pass minutes after Evans had shot wide with him caught well out of his goal.

By the time some experience - Omar Bogle (29, 116 league starts) and Dan Gardner (31, 174)- came on, the horse had bolted into the next field.

Dan Neil hit the side netting from Pritchard's reverse pass after 40 minutes so when a Tom Flanagan pass found the playmaker high up in the inside right channel two minutes later he decided to pick out someone else and Elliot Embleton did not miss.

Bogle came on at half-time and minutes later Rovers found Joe Dodoo up near the corner flag but all he could do with the ball was give it back and in the blink of an eye former Doncaster loanee Gooch was down at the opposite byline crossing for Pritchard to backheel goalwards. His flick went in off Blythe.

Sunderland could bring their captain Evans off for a rest, the 4,000-strong away end could reel off its repertoire of songs about Alan Shearer, Newcastle United and people they actually do like.

Knoyle continued to throw himself in the line of fire, blocking a Gooch shot then galloping far enough upfield to be out of position when Ravenhill was robbed. Embleton hit the post from a tight angle at the resulting corner and Ravenhill instantly swapped with Gardner.

In the right environment maybe some of these young Doncaster players can go on to have decent careers but not now, not on their own. These boys need help - urgently - and the new manager expected imminently or his director of football if it is a coach need to set to work on trying to sign it immediately because even with a fit Anderson to lead them and Galbraith's flair to inspire them, this well-meaning group of youngsters look bound for League Two.

Doncaster Rovers: Jones; Knoyle, Olowu, Blythe; Hasani (Bogle HT), Ravenhill (Gardner 61), Smith, Horton; Rowe, Hiwula, Dodoo (Barlow 76).

Unused substitutes: Dahlberg, E Williams, Cukur, Faulkner.

Sunderland: Hoffman; Wright, Flanagan, Doyle; Dajaku, Evans (Cirkin 57), Neil, Gooch; Pritchard (Hume 74), Embleton; Stewart (Harris 82).

Unused substitutes: Burge, Alves, Younger, Kimpioka.

Referee: R Madley (Huddersfield).