Doncaster Rovers Reserves vs Rotherham United Reserves (Louis Tomlinson Debut)

I am excited to say the article today is the very first guest article on thedonnypop, this is where someone other than myself writes for the blog. This is something that I want to encourage and see more of so feel free to send in your blogs to me at thedonnypop@gmail.com

The writer today is big One Direction fan Lizi, Lizi travelled to the keepmoat all the way from Cheltenham to watch the game, and this is her take on it. Below you will find her twitter name, give her a follow.

Yesterday was my first time at a Doncaster Rovers game, my main reason for attending was because One Direction's Louis Tomlinson was playing. After the relatively long train journey from Cheltenham (early mornings and me do not mix!) I arrived at the Keepmoat Stadium around lunchtime, about 100 teenage girls already there waiting to catch a glimpse of their idol. As more arrived, they started to get louder and if I'm honest, some were quite irritating. The group I was in were the calm side and we got talking about different things to do with Louis and the lads, wondering how he would do up against professional athletes. Louis arrived to some of the loudest screams I've ever heard outside of a concert and after taking pictures with a very few extremely lucky fans, he headed inside, leaving the majority of the 500 or so girls disappointed. After having a lovely chat with Louis' grandad Keith (and learning some new facts), it was time to head into the ground. The outside of the stadium was impressive, a modern and classic take on stadia throughout England.

When I got to my seat, front row right next to the Rotherham dugout, I had to try and get a view of the pitch as the gap between the seats and the barrier was rammed with teenage girls, trying to get a picture of their idol warming up at the other end of the pitch. As the game was about to start, everyone was told to sit down and thankfully they obliged. As Louis' name was read out among the replacements, deafening cheers were heard.

Doncaster started the game brightly, with numbers 7 and 11(Mark Duffy and David Cotterill? - Not sure if they are the correct names as I didnt hear the whole team announcement and they were the ones listed in the squad on the programme) putting in a top standard performance, with many tricks, slick passes and brilliant shots. Many of which were sure to have given Doncaster the lead had it not been for a stellar performance by Rotherham United's goalkeeper, pulling off a number of superb saves in a short space of time to keep the score level. Unfortunately due to the location of my seat, I was unable to see much of Doncaster defending as I had the dugout blocking my view. 

Deafening screams again rocked the stadium as Louis went to warm up along with the substitutes. Getting louder each time he did anything to warm up and earning chuckles from the rest of the Rovers replacements. Security also doubled on him as he was warming up, in case any of the over-excited fans got any ideas.

The first half continued in an entertaining manner, with both teams giving their all, sometimes a bit too much, although the referee managed to miss quite a few blatant fouls from both sides. Again Doncaster were the main ones to press, troubling the keeper on several more occasions than Rotherham but as the half-time whistle went, the score remained 0-0.

For the second half, due to my seat location, I was only able to see Doncaster's defending, however this would come to be a bonus when Louis came on as I would be able to see just how well he can actually play. I got this chance around the 65 minute mark when to thunderous applause and ear-splitting screams, Louis made his way onto the pitch replacing Doncaster's right back, number 2 (Paul Quinn?). The pop star, 22, did seem to spend more time sorting his hair out as it kept blowing all over the place, signalling a few shouts and comments about needing a haircut. However, for an amateur playing with and against professional athletes, he didn't have a bad game. The few passes he made weren't the strongest of passes that you would expect to see from a professional, but then again, he isn't a professional, but each time they found their target. However, after one pass, he lost his footing and slipped. I missed the photo opportunity but it gave the crowd a good laugh. He also managed to hold his ground and win a throw. He did seem to shy away from headers however, although successfully making one towards the end of the game. His man marking was pretty impressive, only getting tricked a couple of times. 

The game ended 0-0 which really, was a fair result to both teams. Once the game was over, I made my way out of the ground, finding that the teenage girls were again surrounding the barriers, hoping to get a glimpse of their idol. However, what they didn't realise was that he left another way so again were left disappointed.

All in all, it was a good day out with an entertaining game of football. Louis showed that he does have some promise on the pitch, however, it will take a lot more training for him to match up to the level of the rest of the squad. 

I would like to go to another Doncaster game, whether Louis would play or not as the atmosphere was great, mainly due to the screaming from the girls.

Elizabeth

Many thanks to Elizabeth for her article really good to read about Rovers I

a different perspective. Interesting to hear how she credits the atmosphere, obviously on different occasion but it is something we have talked about a lot recently.

Be sure to go and follow her on twitter @Lbirt1993 if you check thedonnypop twitter you will find her.

Thanks for reading.