Peter Clarke’s performance stood out for Oldham today, but the tie could be better named the “Peter Bankes tie” as the referee made himself the centre of attention in a well competed FA Cup Fourth Round match.
The first half was dominated by Doncaster and Kane, Marquis and Whiteman all had early attempts. In the 14th minute Coppinger hit a good shot towards goal, but this was met with an impressive save by Daniel Iversen, who was keen to redeem himself after a poor performance last week.
In the 23rd minute John Marquis thought he’d given the home side the lead. The talented striker got in behind the Latics and managed to get round Iversen before rolling the ball into the goal…..or so he thought. Peter Clarke was at hand to clear the ball off the line and out for a corner – magnificent defending.
The game started to balance out around the half our mark. Though Doncaster still looked the better side, chances were less frequent. This may be due to Doncaster having a limited tactical approach to the game; they were keen to attack the left wing and try to work the ball into the box, which Clarke and Edmundon dealt with relative easily. The sides walked in level at half time.
Oldham came out in the second half brighter and looked the better side. The Latics we’re creating plenty of chances but were quite wasteful – chances fell for O’Grady and Baxter but neither found the net. These missed chances would haunt Oldham as Doncaster took the lead in the 68th minute. This came slightly against the run of play, though not unfair given Rovers’ first half performance: Edmundson’s poor clearance was picked up at the edge of the penalty area. The ball was played to Whiteman around 19 yards from goal who hit a good shot in the middle of the goal, though he was assisted by a slight deflection on the way.
10 minutes later Oldham thought they’d levelled things up as Missilou struck the post. The industrious midfielder turned his man and cut inside from the right side of goal before striking the ball across the keeper. The ball crashed off the post and Lang missed the rebound, which looked harder to miss than it did to score!
Six minutes later the 3800 Latics fans had something to cheer about. Gevaro Nepomuceno’s free-kick bounced through the wall. This fooled the keeper and meant Peter Clarke was able to slot into a virtually open goal – it felt like a late equaliser.
However, Doncaster had other ideas and in the 89th minute the referee was pointing to the penalty spot in the strangest fashion. The official had initially given a corner but the Doncaster players protested and forced the referee to speak to his linesman. Between the two officials it was decided that a penalty should be awarded and Whiteman sent Iversen the wrong way. 2-1. It will be interesting to watch that penalty decision back.
The drama hadn’t ended at the Keepmoat Stadium, though, as Peter Clarke was given his marching orders in the 96th minute. Clarke was initially booked on the penalty decision then received his second yellow for a challenge against goalkeeper Marosi , though it wasn’t clear if contact was actually made.
On balance, especially given the home side’s first half performance, it was probably a fair result. However, given the nature of the game, it was a tough one to take for Oldham fans. Nevertheless, Doncaster make their way to the FA Cup 5th round for the first time since 1956.
Attendance 11,260 (3796 Away)
Doncaster Rovers
Marosi, Mason, Andrew, Whiteman, Marquis ©, Anderson, Kane, May, Sadlier, Coppinger, Downing
Oldham Athletic
Iversen, Hamer, Clarke ©, Edmundson, Nepomuceno, Lang, Sylla, Missilou, Branger-Engone, Baxter, O’Grady
words Chris Stringer, D3D4 Oldham Athletic correspondent