FERGIE TIME TO DONNY’S RESCUE
DONCASTER blasted six goals to send Ebbsfleet United crashing out of the FA Cup – and even though the National League side had taken a two-goal first-half lead Rovers boss Darren Ferguson is adamant he was never worried.
Rovers scored two goals in time added on at the end of the first half – Fergie time if you will – to pull themselves back into the game after going behind to goals from Danny Kedwell and Luke Coulson.
And despite the topsy-turvy first half, Ferguson’s troops added four goals after the break while Ebbsfleet couldn’t rediscover their shooting boots.
“I thought we lost a little bit of concentration by not scoring in the first 30 minutes,” said Ferguson.
“We got a little bit frustrated and they were causing us problems on the counterattack. We didn’t deal well with their wide players and they punished our individual mistakes.
“It was game on but in the end our quality got us through. We didn’t change anything and just kept doing what we wanted to do.
“To get a goal back before half-time was a bonus, to get two was fantastic because the second was the key goal in the game.
“I was still confident. We changed one or two things, made a substitution and played a lot quicker and kept the ball. In ther first half we didn’t play quick enough and our wing-backs didn’t play high enough.”
When Rovers keeper Ian Lawler brought down Chris Bush in the area on 34 minutes, many in the crowd thought referee Lee Collins was going to brandish a red card, but the official cautioned Lawlor and awarded a penalty to Ebbsfleet. Fleet skipper Kedwell stepped up and and put his side ahead from the spot.
Four minutes later Ebbsfleet had doubled their lead, Kedwell supplying Coulson with a well-weighted pass, and Coulson then carried the ball into the area before sending it beyond Lawlor.
With Ebbsfleet contemplating a comfortable half-time break, referee Collins indicated a minimum of two minutes to be played. This seemed to spur Rovers into action and Tommy Rowe was quick to capitalise on slack Ebbsfleet marking to stab the ball home for a Rovers lifeline.
But the Yorkshire side were not done and seconds later more poor marking allowed John Marquis to roll the ball into the net, tieing the game up at the break.
Six minutes into the second half Rovers skipper James Coppinger saw his shot deflected past keeper Nathan Ashmore to give them the lead.
And they had the Fleet on the ropes by the time Jordan Houghton calmly slotted in to make it 2-4 on 78 minutes.
Chris Bush was sent off for Ebbsfleet on 80 minutes and more holes appeared in the home defence which was breached twice more, first from a Coppinger penalty following a Kenny Clark foul, and then by a second for Rowe four minutes from time.