Doncaster Rovers 5(2) v (0)0 Kidderminster Harriers
Football League Division 3 - Belle Vue - 27 February 2004
Attendance: 7594

Individual Stats
DoncasterShotsFoulsOff.vKidderminsterShotsFoulsOff.
 OnOffForAg   OnOffForAg 
Andy Warrington 7 0(3)0000[1]Stuart Brock 5 0(3)0000
David Mulligan 6 11010[30/6]Matt Gadsby 5 00020
Tim Ryan 5 00100[3]Scott Stamps 4 01140
Mark Albrighton 7 10000[6/2]Abdou Sall 5 00010
Steve Foster 501210[23/22]Wayne Hatswell 5 00110
Ricky Ravenhill 5 11010[19/23]Mark Yates 02000
JJ Melligan 5 00520[16/9]John Williams 6 02100
Paul Green 5 01121[20/17]Adam Murray 6 1(1)1311
Leo Fortune-West 5 01112[14/10]Jesper Christiansen 5 0001(h)1
Gregg Blundell 9 5(3)3102[8/11]Dean Keates 5 00110
Michael McIndoe 6 00000[21/7]Dean Bennett 5 1(1)1100
Dave Morley     [4/14]Sean Parrish 5 00001
Adriano Rigoglioso 5 01000[10/16]Scott Rickards 5 1(1)0011
John McGrath 5 00000[12/20]Graham Ward 6 0001(h)0
Chris Brown 5 01000[26/21]Ian Foster     
Barry Richardson     [13/15]John Danby     
Team Stats
  Fouls Conceded Offside Corners Shots On Shots off
Doncaster 8511810
Kidderminster 134637
GOALS
DoncasterKidderminster
5 Mark Albrighton McIndoe's right-wing corner found Albrighton in the six-yard box who headed home unchallenged.      
45+ Gregg Blundell Sall's clearance fell to Blundell who cut into the penalty area and curled a shot into the far corner.      
56 Ricky Ravenhill Blundell's low cross from the right was kicked clear by Brock straight to Ravenhill who drilled a shot into the bottom corner.      
78 Gregg Blundell Blundell ran through the Harries defence on the right, holding off Sall before tucking a shot past Brock.      
90+ David Mulligan The ball wa played in low from the right and as the Harriers defence stood still Mulligan despatched a crisp shot into the back of the net from the edge of the penalty area.      
FORMATIONS
Doncaster
  Warrington  
MulliganAlbrighton FosterRyan
     
MelliganGreen RavenhillMcIndoe
     
 Fortune-West Blundell 
Kidderminster
  Brock  
GadsbySall HatswellStamps
  Yates  
WilliamsMurray KeatesBennett
     
  Christiansen  
SUBSTITUTIONS
DoncasterKidderminster
74 Brown Fortune-West Brown to striker. 27 Ward Gadsby Ward to right back.
77 Rigoglioso Melligan Rigoglioso to right midfield. 46 Parrish Hatswell Parrish to left midfield, Bennett to right central midfield, Murray to defensive midfield, Yates to left central defender.
81 McGrath Ravenhill McGrath to left central midfield. 47     Parrish to left back, Bennett to left midfield, Murray to right central midfield. Now 4-4-1.
        57 Rickards Christiansen Rickards to striker, Williams to striker, Bennett to left central midfield, Keates to central midfield. Now 4-3-2.
BOOKINGS
DoncasterKidderminster
    Stamps 23 Foul
Stamps 47 Foul

Stamps 47 Persistent Misconduct
Referee: G. Laws
Match Report by St@tto

Everything that could possibly go wrong for Harriers did go wrong as their world crashed down around them at Doncaster's Belle Vue ground.  Schoolboy defending allowed the home attack to run riot, tow players were lost to injury in the first half and they were reduced to ten men with the dismissal of Scott Stamps shortly after the break.

Jan Molby decided to tinker with the line-up, changing a winning team to leave out Ian Foster and Scott Rickards and recall John Williams while giving a start to new signing Mark Yates.  Abdou Sall also returned in place of the suspended Craig Hinton.  Whatever plan Molby may have had with his 4-5-1 formation went out of the window after just four minutes when Stuart Brock flapped at a left-wing cross from Michael McIndoe; the ball went out for a corner from which McIndoe's cross was headed in from close range by an unchallenged Mark Albrighton.

McIndoe was a constant thorn in the side of Harriers in the early stages of the game, after 13 minutes he got away from Matt Gadsby on the left and squared the ball low to Gregg Blundell who saw his shot blocked by the legs of Brock.  The ball was chipped back in and Blundell got up to meet it but headed wide.  Midway through the half Stamps' evening started to go badly when he was shown the yellow card for a crunching challenge on former Harrier JJ Melligan.  The young Irishman seemed to have been singled out for special attention by the Harriers players and was on the receiving end of a number of heavy tackles.  The treatment was unnecessary as his performances have been emasculated by the formation that Doncaster play, he was stuck out wide on the right in a rigid 4-4-2 formation as opposed to the free role that he was given in his time at Aggborough.

As the half wore on Harriers matched their hosts and had plenty of possession but were unable to do anything with it.  They were hampered after 26 minutes when Matt Gadsby had to be withdrawn through injury to be replaced by Graham Ward.  After half an hour Rovers had the ball in the net but Paul Green had been miles offside when he received the ball.  Harriers' best chance off the half arrived six minutes before the break when Yates and Adam Murray combined to set up Dean Bennett who drove the ball straight at Andy Warrington.

Shortly afterwards Blundell raced clear off the Harriers defence but Brock was quickly off his line to clear, however, the ball fell straight to Leo Fortune-West 40 yards from goal but fortunately his lob was too strong and dropped over the bar.  Harriers had another good chance when Sall headed down Dean Keates' free kick to Murray who volleyed over the bar.  Brock got Yates out of jail saving Blundell's shot with his legs after Yates had passed the ball straight to the dangerous Rovers front man.  The half ended in controversy; the ball appeared to go out of play of a Doncaster defender for a Harriers corner but the referee gave a goal kick; while Harriers players were still protesting the decision Rovers attacked, Sall made a good intervention but his teammates were slow to react and the ball went to Blundell who cut into the penalty area and curled a shot into the far corner.

Sean Parrish came on for Wayne Hatswell at the start of the second half, the Harriers skipper suffering from concussion, but the game took another turn for the worse just two minutes into the new period.  Stamps, who had had another warning from referee Laws before the break, caught Melligan with another crunching tackle, to be fair he looked to have won the ball, and the referee had no hesitation in showing him his second yellow card and ordering him from the field.  Soon afterwards  Rovers added their third goal; Blundell played the ball in from the right, for some reason Brock decided to kick it clear rather than pick it up, and Ricky Ravenhill drilled it back into the bottom corner.

Harriers had a golden opportunity to reduce the arrears on the hour, Keates' pass set Williams clear on goal; with plenty of time to pick his spot he stroked the ball past Warrington and wide of his left-hand post.  Shortly afterwards Harriers were awarded a free kick on the left corner of the penalty area that Murray played short to Yates but he blasted his 25-yard shot over the bar.  Harriers, by now playing with two men in attack, created another opening on 72 minutes.  Rickards broke free on the right, his cross to the far post was knocked back into the danger area by Williams but there was nobody their to capitalise.

Rovers continued to look dangerous when they attacked and could have added a fourth thirteen minutes from time when Blundell's cross from the right found substitute Chris Brown but he headed over.  The fourth goal was only seconds in coming, however, Blundell raced through on the right, holding off the challenge of Sall and tucking a low shot past Brock.  The rout was completed in stoppage time when full-back David Mulligan drilled a shot home from the edge of the penalty area.

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