An impressive Doncaster display saw Sean O'Driscoll's men hold Aston Villa to a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup.
Woodwork plays its part as O'Driscoll's men draw 0-0
An impressive Doncaster Rovers display saw Sean O'Driscoll's side hold Aston Villa to a 0-0 stalemate in their FA Cup fourth round tie at Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday.
Championship club Rovers demonstrated tidy spells of play as they tested their Premier League opponents, although neither side were able to break the deadlock.
Martin O'Neill's Villa went close early on as Donny goalkeeper Neil Sullivan denied Gabriel Agbonlahor from close range.
However, as the home team grew in confidence, Martin Woods fired from distance and clattered Brad Friedel's crossbar to raise the thumping atmosphere in South Yorkshire.
Villa upped their game in the second period and Agbonlahor cannoned an effort off the crossbar, but Rovers had the last word as Woods saw his late free-kick clip the woodwork and bounce out.
Tempo
It was one of those typically uncomfortable FA Cup afternoons for a top-flight side as Villa struggled to find any rhythm or tempo.
Rovers exuded the air of a confident side that had won four and drawn one of their previous five games coming into one of their biggest matches of the last 25 years.
That was the last time in which Rovers had appeared in the final 32 of the oldest cup competition in the world, with its magic working to good effect at the tidy, compact Keepmoat Stadium.
Despite fielding a full-strength side, with the exception of Ashley Young starting a three-match suspension following his straight red card dismissal in last Saturday's 2-1 win at Sunderland, O'Neill's team often mis-fired.
Perhaps if Agbonlahor had not skewed a fourth-minute shot with only Sullivan to beat from 15 yards after a mix-up in the home defence it might have been a different story.
But from that moment Doncaster grew in stature as the game wore on, appreciating there was little to this Villa side to unduly trouble them.
O'Driscoll's men quickly carved out their opening opportunity in the seventh minute, and if Agbonlahor's miss was a glaring one, then Gareth Roberts was equally as culpable in the seventh minute.
Left unmarked at the far post to a deep cross from the right wing from James O'Connor, left-back Roberts volleyed inches wide.
Unsurprisingly, and rightly so, the fact Roberts was allowed such a chance resulted in a broadside from Villa goalkeeper Friedel to his defenders for their slack marking.
It worked as they duly tightened up, although there were still a few anxious moments that followed, with Rovers twice going close again before the break, albeit from distance.
In the 20th minute, James Coppinger let fly with a toe-poked 20-yard effort that narrowly cleared the crossbar, although Friedel was comfortable in allowing it to pass over.
Then 10 minutes before the break, Friedel found himself beaten by a dipping strike from Woods the American was relieved to see clip the top of his crossbar and drop to safety.
Chance
Such an opportunity had curtailed a 10-minute spell of dominance from Villa, who finally offered a degree of substance to their top-flight style.
The highlight of which saw Sullivan prove he has lost none of his spring or agility with a fine fingertip stop to deny Agbonlahor from six yards.
It was Sullivan who then commanded the second half, although not for another 15 minutes into it as Villa continued to struggle to find their feet.
When they did, they should have buried a team 38 places below them in the league, but a combination of Sullivan and wastefulness left the game on a knife-edge.
After twice denying James Milner in a matter of minutes either side of the hour-mark, the former Scotland international then pulled off his save of the game to tip away the towering Zat Knight's downward header.
After the heroics from Sullivan came the villainy from Villa as Milner and Steve Sidwell both missed the target with free headers when they should have at least put Sullivan under more pressure.
To cap a remarkable 12-minute spell in front of a crowd of 13,517, worse followed for Villa against a Rovers side visibly beginning to tire.
Racing onto a ball from deep, Agbonlahor was sent scampering clear, but with only Sullivan to beat, the 22-year-old somehow contrived to smack his shot against the bar when he should have buried it.
Rovers, though, were not yet done, only for Woods to strike the left-hand post with a curling 25-yard free-kick late on that had Friedel clawing at thin air.
After one more sterling stop from Sullivan to deny Craig Gardner, he duly earned Rovers their night out at Villa Park.
| Team Name |
Doncaster Rovers |
Aston Villa |
| Possession |
48% |
52% |
| Goals |
0 |
0 |
| Shots On Target |
1 |
4 |
| Shots Off Target |
8 |
9 |
| Blocked Shots |
1 |
0 |
| Corners |
6 |
7 |
| Fouls Conceded |
6 |
13 |
| Offsides |
0 |
2 |
| Yellow Cards |
0 |
0 |
| Red Cards |
0 |
0 |
|
