2002-03 Season
July: WorldNET 2003 Report
by John Coyle for the Doncaster Rovers match programme;
The Donny R'sonists achieved their best ever Worldnet placing in the football tournament for Internet mailing list teams which was held at Leeds this weekend. The R'sonists, the team representing the Doncaster Rovers on-line mailing list, have entered Worldnet every year since 1998 and last year reached the quarter finals before losing to Stockport County. This year they went one better, reaching the last four of the competition before losing to the representatives of Serie A club, Internazionale of Milan.
On Saturday the R'sonists competed with three other teams in Group 10 and began with a 5-0 win over Birmingham City (goals from James Batchelor (3), Greg Sill and an own goal). The followed it up with a 2-0 victory (Batchelor 2) over Huddersfield Town and a 1-1 draw with Dunfermline (Batchelor again on the mark). These results put the Doncaster side into the cup competition (for the top 32 sides) as group winners. They also played a friendly against Crewe Alexandra, winning 2-1.
On Sunday the R'sonists faced the might of Glasgow Rangers in the first round of the knockout cup and after Batchelor had given the R'sonists a half time lead, Rangers equalised from the penalty spot. Extra time produced no goals, and a dramatic penalty shoot out was required, the R'sonists going through 4-3. The successful takers were Alan Brown, Neil Tissington, Paul Exton and James Batchelor, with goalkeeper Liam Scully making two vital saves.
In the next round the R'sonists met Arsenal and a competitive game with few chances seemed to be heading for extra time when Simon Hall netted a late winner in a goalmouth scramble. That took Donny through to the quarter-finals, where they met QPR. A superb performance saw the R'sonists
dominate against one of the pre-tournament favourites, but they were unable to snatch a goal in normal time or extra time, so the game again went to penalties. With Brown, Exton, Glen Wilson, Batchelor and Rob White scoring from the spot, two more fine saves by Scully saw Donny through to the semis.
The last four saw Donny take on the might of Italian side Internazionale, making their first appearance in the competition. The Milan side had already impressed many opponents and spectators with their skill and levels of fitness, and sadly this proved to be a game too far for the R'sonists, whose small squad was struggling with injuries and fatigue. The Italians scored twice before the interval and added a third soon after to give them an unassailable 3-0 lead. The final saw a repeat of the 1967 European Cup Final and a similar outcome, with Celtic defeating Inter 1-0 to take the Worldnet Cup for the first time.
The Donny R'sonists can take much pride from their performance in reaching the last four of a competition in which 64 teams took part. Some of these teams represent Premiership clubs with much larger supporter bases than Rovers. In addition, the R'sonists had a squad of only 17 players, several of whom suffered injuries during the course of the competition. The squad also entered fully into the social spirit of the weekend, and made many new friends from different clubs from England, Scotland and Europe. The R'sonists are already looking forward to Worldnet 2004, which is likely to
again be held in Leeds.
The squad: Alan Brown (captain), Darren Blake, Dave Plant, Glen Wilson, Greg Sill, James Batchelor, Joe Stevens, Karl Smith, Liam Scully, Ledley Wilson, Matt Smith, Neil Tissington, Paul Exton, Paul Nelson, Rob White, Simon Hall, John Coyle (manager).
The Donny R'sonists achieved their best ever Worldnet placing in the football tournament for Internet mailing list teams which was held at Leeds this weekend. The R'sonists, the team representing the Doncaster Rovers on-line mailing list, have entered Worldnet every year since 1998 and last year reached the quarter finals before losing to Stockport County. This year they went one better, reaching the last four of the competition before losing to the representatives of Serie A club, Internazionale of Milan.
On Saturday the R'sonists competed with three other teams in Group 10 and began with a 5-0 win over Birmingham City (goals from James Batchelor (3), Greg Sill and an own goal). The followed it up with a 2-0 victory (Batchelor 2) over Huddersfield Town and a 1-1 draw with Dunfermline (Batchelor again on the mark). These results put the Doncaster side into the cup competition (for the top 32 sides) as group winners. They also played a friendly against Crewe Alexandra, winning 2-1.
On Sunday the R'sonists faced the might of Glasgow Rangers in the first round of the knockout cup and after Batchelor had given the R'sonists a half time lead, Rangers equalised from the penalty spot. Extra time produced no goals, and a dramatic penalty shoot out was required, the R'sonists going through 4-3. The successful takers were Alan Brown, Neil Tissington, Paul Exton and James Batchelor, with goalkeeper Liam Scully making two vital saves.
In the next round the R'sonists met Arsenal and a competitive game with few chances seemed to be heading for extra time when Simon Hall netted a late winner in a goalmouth scramble. That took Donny through to the quarter-finals, where they met QPR. A superb performance saw the R'sonists
dominate against one of the pre-tournament favourites, but they were unable to snatch a goal in normal time or extra time, so the game again went to penalties. With Brown, Exton, Glen Wilson, Batchelor and Rob White scoring from the spot, two more fine saves by Scully saw Donny through to the semis.
The last four saw Donny take on the might of Italian side Internazionale, making their first appearance in the competition. The Milan side had already impressed many opponents and spectators with their skill and levels of fitness, and sadly this proved to be a game too far for the R'sonists, whose small squad was struggling with injuries and fatigue. The Italians scored twice before the interval and added a third soon after to give them an unassailable 3-0 lead. The final saw a repeat of the 1967 European Cup Final and a similar outcome, with Celtic defeating Inter 1-0 to take the Worldnet Cup for the first time.
The Donny R'sonists can take much pride from their performance in reaching the last four of a competition in which 64 teams took part. Some of these teams represent Premiership clubs with much larger supporter bases than Rovers. In addition, the R'sonists had a squad of only 17 players, several of whom suffered injuries during the course of the competition. The squad also entered fully into the social spirit of the weekend, and made many new friends from different clubs from England, Scotland and Europe. The R'sonists are already looking forward to Worldnet 2004, which is likely to
again be held in Leeds.
The squad: Alan Brown (captain), Darren Blake, Dave Plant, Glen Wilson, Greg Sill, James Batchelor, Joe Stevens, Karl Smith, Liam Scully, Ledley Wilson, Matt Smith, Neil Tissington, Paul Exton, Paul Nelson, Rob White, Simon Hall, John Coyle (manager).