Doncaster Rovers 1 Leeds United 3: Whites new boys set up Cup victory
by Phil Hay
Billy Paynter had his fun in a way that his career at Elland Road rarely allowed but the night belonged to his former club and three players in particular.
Consummate debuts from Scott Wootton and Alex Mowatt and a first Leeds United goal for Matt Smith negated Paynter’s injection of drama and pushed Doncaster Rovers into the League Cup sidelines.
Paynter scored with his first touch as a substitute to make a game of a tie which was slipping away from Doncaster but the maligned striker was not allowed to steal the show on an evening when others jostled for attention. Late goals from Smith and Ross McCormack were more than Doncaster or Paynter could stomach.
Paynter’s close-range header on 64 minutes levelled the match at 1-1 but Smith proved as deadly 12 minutes later and McCormack converted a gift from the penalty spot after Dominic Poleon drew a loose tackle from Reece Wabara. By then, an earlier goal from Scott Wootton was easily forgotten but the credit in Doncaster flowed his way too.
A slate with Manchester United connections is easily wiped clean by a centre-back who does what Wootton did at both end of the field last night.
A week into his career at Leeds, the club’s newest signing need answer no more questions about old allegiances.
The 21-year-old appeared for the first time at the Keepmoat and made a mark in more ways than one.
His first-half finish set up a second-round win which Leeds deserved but there was more to admire in the calm defending which might yet answer one of Brian McDermott’s prayers.
Wootton watched from the bench in Ipswich Saturday, three days after joining Leeds from the dark side in Manchester, but his influence at Doncaster was as strong as play as he could have made for a Championship baptism of fire against Queens Park Rangers this weekend.
Doncaster at full strength were worn down by Leeds at half-strength, or McDermott’s current version of it. The result offered another injection of optimism after five games without defeat.
Wootton set fire to the tie with a poacher’s goal on 41 minutes, arriving in the six-yard box as Smith guided a header into an uncertain corridor in Doncaster’s box.
Smith’s strength was an asset throughout and Mowatt, the teenage academy graduate who started in United midfield, glided through his own debut with admirable ease. Whether the transfer window helps him or not, McDermott has choices available to him.
The presence of Rodolph Austin, Michael Tonge and Ross McCormack around him gave Mowatt substantial protection but McDermott’s changes ran to six in all, Wootton included.
The tie at the Keepmoat gave Wootton a quick opportunity and a prime one too after Leeds’ defensively-suspect afternoon against Ipswich.
An unchanged team said much about Doncaster’s intentions and Paul Dickov’s desire for a lucky dip in the third-round draw.
Their familiarity was apparent and Wootton came to the fore in the first minute, clearing Richie Wellens’ shot off his goalline after Wellens and Chris Brown sliced through United’s defence. A second chance from the rebound was hacked over the crossbar by Brown as the forward peeled away into another pocket of space.
Rovers pushed the pace from the outset and had McDermott shouting early instructions from his technical area. Pressure on Lee Peltier caused gaping cracks and Wellens scuffed a shot at Paddy Kenny from a dangerous position after David Cotterill worked himself free 12 yards from goal. Doncaster’s half of the field was largely untouched for 10 minutes.
But Mowatt produced the first sign of life from Leeds when his short burst out of midfield carried the ball to the edge of Doncaster’s box where Ross McCormack lashed his lay-off into the stands. Mowatt was given no time to settle but adapted to a difficult environment with a mature head. McCormack’s failure to keep his own denied Leeds the opening goal after 16 minutes.
United worked the ball to Adam Drury who put Ross Turnbull under pressure with a curling cross into the six-yard box from wide on the left wing. Turnbull’s punch was weak and aimless and bounced kindly to McCormack who stroked it over an exposed goal. Chants of “Ross McCormack is not for sale” echoed around the Keepmoat regardless.
It was all Leeds needed to coax them into the tie. Wootton looked strong and alert against a Doncaster’s attack whose joy was brief and McCormack began to find the range of Smith and Dominic Poleon.
Poleon made a mess of Doncaster right-back Reece Wabara with a powerful direct run before clipping a weak shot into Turnbull’s arms and deliveries towards Doncaster’s goalkeeper began to bounce around in a hint of uncertainty in front of him.
The relentless speed of the match leant itself to repeated aggravation with Jason Pearce felling James Coppinger with a two-footed tackle and Theo Robinson’s elbow leaving McCormack in a heap.
Referee Scott Mathieson was scarcely bothered by either incident, booking Pearce and ignoring Robinson’s flailing arm completely. Clear chances were irregular and Kenny’s safe hold of a Coppinger header was an easier save than it looked to most of the crowd. Smith caused problems in the air at the other end but failed to dispatch a couple of headers.
It was nevertheless his towering height which did for Doncaster four minutes before half-time.
A searching cross from Mowatt reached him at the far post and his measured touch met the run of Wootton who nodded the ball against the underside of the bar and over Turnbull’s line. From a point-blank range, Turnbull barely saw the ball pass him and United’s players were all over Wootton before the keeper could pull it from his net.
Dickov sensed the need for a change and used Mark Duffy at the break but trouble continued to brew at Doncaster’s end of the field.
Poleon drilled a deflected effort into the side-netting and Smith almost squeezed an improvised volley inside Turnbull’s left-hand post with defenders swarming around him. The near-miss was Dickov’s cue to call on Paynter.
A sorry presence during his years at Elland Road, it was Paynter’s satisfaction to equalise in an instant. United’s defence covered themselves in little glory, leaving him unmarked deep inside their area, but the striker’s header gave Kenny no chance. Light-hearted threats from the away crowd to invade the pitch “if Billy scores” were not followed through.
The tie had cut loose by then and a mutual reluctance to play for extra-time was palpable.
When it mattered United struck as Smith crashed home one of the many headers he won all evening and Wabara’s trip on Poleon gave McCormack the chance to kill the tie on 77 minutes. The Scottish striker made no mistake. At present, he rarely does.