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DATE VENUE RESULT SCORERS 26/12/2004 Belle Vue W 3-0 Edds (og), Johnson (2) 09/08/2005 Belle Vue D 1-1 Heffernan 12/02/2013 Keepmoat D 0-0 25/10/2014 Keepmoat D 0-0 25/11/2017 Keepmoat W 2-1 Marquis, Blair 07/12/2019 Keepmoat D 1-1 John 12/09/2020 Keepmoat D 1-1 Gomes AWAY

DATE VENUE RESULT SCORERS 11/09/2004 National Hockey Stadium W 1-0 Albrighton 10/12/2005 National Hockey Stadium W 3-2 Fenton, Roberts S, Heffernan 05/03/2013 Stadium MK L 0-3 21/04/2015 Stadium MK L 0-3 14/04/2018 Stadium MK W 2-1 Marquis (2) 07/03/2020 Stadium MK W 1-0 Ramsey 27/03/2021 Stadium MK L 0-1

THE OFFICIAL MATCHDAY MAGAZINE OF DONCASTER ROVERS FOOTBALL CLUB 2019/20

vs MILTON KEYNES DONS

Saturday 7th December 2019 KO: 3:00pm | £3.00

1879-2019

vs MILTON KEYNES DONS . Saturday 12th September 2020 . Sky Bet League One . KO: 3.00pm Milton Keynes Dons (better known as MK Dons) was officially established in 2004, ending a controversial chain of events. Wimbledon’s owners had moved the club to Milton Keynes a year before and in 2004 the club was renamed despite opposition from the FA, the Football League and, most importantly, the vast majority of Wimbledon fans. The aim was for MK Dons to play at a new stadium, the centrepiece of a sports and leisure complex, but with the stadium not ready until 2007, MK Dons played their matches at the town’s National Hockey Centre.

It was this venue that played host to the first meeting of MK Dons and Doncaster Rovers on 11th September 2004 in League One. Rovers scored the only goal of the game after 66 minutes when Jermaine McSporran’s corner was headed home by defender Mark Albrighton. The return match was played at Belle Vue on Boxing Day 2004 and two goals from loanee Simon Johnson helped Rovers to a 3-0 win. They finished 10th while MK just avoided relegation, finishing above Torquay United on goal difference.

Perhaps the most exciting contest between the two clubs came on 10th December 2005, again at the National Hockey Stadium. Visiting defenders Nick Fenton (13 minutes) and Steve Roberts (24 minutes) put Rovers 2-0 up at the interval. After 73 minutes Gary Smith pulled one back, only for Paul Heffernan to restore Rovers’ lead with five minutes remaining. Although a young Aaron Wilbraham scored for MK, Rovers held on to win a pulsating game 3-2.

After 2005-06 the teams did not meet again for seven seasons and when they did, both had moved to new stadiums. On 12th February 2013 Rovers and MK Dons played out a 0-0 draw at the Keepmoat Stadium. Less than a month later, on 5th March 2013 MK beat Rovers 3-0 at Stadium MK with goals from Izale McLeod, Daniel Powell and Stephen Gleeson. Despite this setback, Rovers went on to clinch the League One Championship while MK finished just outside the play-offs in eighth place.

Coming up to date, the quirks of the fixture list meant that MK Dons and Rovers met in successive matches over two different seasons. On 7th March 2020 Rovers won 1-0 at Stadium MK with a second half goal from Jacob Ramsey. A week later the football programme in England was suspended due to Covid-19 and the 2019-20 placings were decided by a Points-Per-Game formula. League One resumed on 12th September 2020, and in a match played behind closed doors at the Keepmoat, Rovers and MK Dons drew 1-1.

Finally, in seven meetings on home soil Rovers have never lost to MK Dons. After a disappointing start to the season Richie Wellens’s men will hope to maintain this record.