Doncaster Rovers 0 Oldham Athletic 0
Last updated : 27 July 2002 By The Chairman
Athletic had the better chances in the first half of the friendly at Doncaster Rovers but failed to take full advantage. Lee Duxbury was unlucky to see his early shot go just wide of the far post but Doncaster could have taken the lead
after new Team Captain Matty Appleby conceded a free just outside the box. Luckily for the Latics the free kick went well wide of the post.
Tierney then lobbed Pogliacomi only to see his effort ending up on top of the goal. The Latics then forced a succession of corners but none of them bore fruit. Just before half time Paul Murray hit a shot from 30 yards which sailed over. On the stroke of the half time whistle Appleby was involved in a brawl and was lucky to remain on the pitch.
In the second half Miskelly deputised for Pogliacomi, Lourenco replaced Andrews and Haining took over from Duxbury. Tony Carss had an early shot which was just wide before more changes ensued. Both Sheridans entered the
field in place of Appleby and Eyres. Barrick almost opened the scoring for the Rovers but Miskelly was alert enough to comfortably deal with the long range effort.
Even more changes were made when Balmer and Pondeljak came on for Beharall and Murray and Adam Griffin was forced to replace Will Haining after a fierce challenge which earned a Doncaster player a yellow card. Lourenco showed a few neat touches before Carss should have opened the scoring when he found himself free at the back post but he blazed it over.
The last main chance fell to Carlpo Corazzin (pictured) after good work by Pondeljak but the Doncaster goalkeeper did enough to make sure that the score remained at 0-0. The worrying statistic is that Athletic are not scoring, something which needs to be addressed before they take on Premier League side Newcastle United and then Sheffield Wednesday.