Players have chance to write their name in Rovers' history

Just as they did four years ago, Doncaster Rovers are holding out for a hero, allied to a spot of luck from elsewhere, ahead of their season finale at Hartlepool United tomorrow – and for the long-serving midfielder, it is a case of ‘seen it, done it, got the T-shirt’.

The Rovers veteran gilded his iconic status with the club in a golden, never-to-be-forgotten championship-winning moment at Brentford on April 27, 2013, when a last-gasp strike propelled the South Yorkshire outfit from likely play-off participation to the League One title in the space of 17 of the craziest seconds likely to be witnessed in football.

Ahead of that last-day appointment, Rovers – just like now – were second favourites in their quest for silverware behind Bournemouth, with final-day opponents Brentford also pitted in a compelling three-way last-day battle for promotion and the trophy, with one unlucky side destined for the play-off lottery.

Fast forward to today and Rovers are again one of three clubs battling for a championship on the final day – although this time around, Darren Ferguson’s side, Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth do have automatic promotion safely in the bag, this time from League Two.

Plymouth hold a slender one-point advantage over Rovers, heading into their final game at Grimsby, with third-placed Pompey also in the title mix and waiting for any slip-ups from the top two.

If Rovers triumph on Teesside and Argyle fail to win at Blundell Park, then a prize addition to the Keepmoat Stadium cabinet will arrive.

Although if lightning somehow strikes twice on Saturday and Coppinger replicates his famous exploits at Brentford, he will spare a thought for the vanquished.

The north-easterner had two loan spells at the start of his league career with Hartlepool, who require a victory, coupled with a defeat for Newport at home to Notts County, to seal a dramatic great escape.

As on that day at Brentford, the stakes are sky-high for both combatants.

Coppinger found the net at the opposite end of the field in the fourth minute of stoppage-time at Griffin Park just seconds after Brentford’s Marcello Trotta hit the bar with a penalty.

On his memories of that delicious episode, Coppinger said: “I cannot quite put it into words to be honest and it will always be one of those things that stays with me and the lads who were part of it and the fans who were there. It was one of those special moments you never forget.”

Moving onto the present and a Rovers player potentially following up his deed – or maybe an encore for himself – he added: “You can be the hero and the one player who wins the league.

“Everyone has got an opportunity of writing their name into Doncaster’s history. When you have these opportunities, they do not come around very often. It will be something that the lads will be aware of and I remember rooming with Dean Furman at the time and saying the same thing to him on the night before the Brentford game. Strange things do happen.

“But we have just got to make sure we are focused on the game at Hartlepool and forget about the Plymouth and Portsmouth games. We have to affect what we can and hope things go our way.

“It is one game and the pressure is totally different when you are leading, which we have had for four months. We have a different pressure and are chasing.

“It will be quite a hostile atmosphere and, being on TV, it will add extra spice. It should be a magnificent game to be part of.”

With his family home being back on his native Teesside, Coppinger knows the magnitude of tomorrow’s game for both rival sides and, in an ideal world, he would have preferred it if Pools had clinched their safety before this weekend’s huge occasion.

It also harks back to his own memories earlier in his career with Exeter, when even the boardroom presence of two famous illusionists in Uri Geller and David Blaine in the crowd could not conjure up an escapology act with Coppinger part of a Grecians side who were relegated from the Football League on the last day in 2002-03.

Coppinger knows several in the Pools camp, including club captain and interim assistant-manager Billy Paynter, who ironically provided the pass to enable him to slot home that famous late goal at Brentford.

Another familiar face at Pools is former Rovers title-winning captain and caretaker boss Rob Jones, although he is currently side-lined through injury.

Coppinger, who also knows several others at a club of which he has fond memories, said: “Billy has sent me a little text. But there’s a lot on the game and I am trying to stay professional and focused on what I am doing for the team – and it is the same for him.

“I said at the start of the season that I didn’t want this to happen. It is a difficult one for me as I made my Football League debut there and they gave me my opportunity twice and I got in the play-offs twice.

“I live in and around the area and know how much it means to them and how disappointed they are with the way things have gone this season. It is not ideal for me personally, but just one of those things.”