On This Day

21ST AUGUST

WORDS: John Coyle

Mark Hawthorne (second from right, back row)

This day in 1979 saw the birth of MARK HAWTHORNE in Sunderland. The young defender was only 18 when he made his league debut for Rovers on 28th December 1997 at Brisbane Road against Leyton Orient.

Hawthorne had the traumatic experience of playing in a team that lost 0-8, Rovers’ biggest league defeat in what was a miserable season. He went on to make eight appearances, one coming in a 1-0 win over Hull City. He later played for Grantham Town.

A more notable career was enjoyed by a player born on 20th August 1934, ALBERT BROADBENT. Broadbent was a talented, if at times mercurial, inside-forward who started his career in 1953 with Notts County, before moving on to Sheffield Wednesday (where he won a Division Two Championship medal) and Rotherham United.

He joined Rovers in July 1959 and enjoyed his best season for the Belle Vue club in 1960/61, playing in every league game and scoring 13 goals. In November 1961 he was transferred to Lincoln City, but he re-joined Rovers two years later, playing alongside the likes of Colin Booth, Alfie Hale and the returning Alick Jeffrey. In October 1965 he moved on to Bradford Park Avenue where he played alongside the prolific Kevin Hector. His final league club was Hartlepool United, having signed in February 1967 by the club’s then manager, Brian Clough.

Albert Broadbent’s record for Rovers was 231 appearances and 43 goals. In his overall professional career, he made 533 appearances and scored 107 goals. He died in 2006, aged 72.

Possibly the most memorable game played by Rovers on this day came in 1965, when they opened their Division Four campaign against Lincoln City.

Rovers were expected to do well and a crowd of 11,566 was not to be disappointed. Graham Ricketts, Laurie Sheffield (on his debut) and Alick Jeffrey had Rovers 3-0 up at the interval and Sheffield added a second in the second half for a 4-0 victory. Rovers ended the season as Champions of Division Four.

Nine years ago, on this day in 2012, Rovers enjoyed a 2-1 win over Bury, with Kyle Bennett and Chris Brown scoring. Again, Rovers went on to be champions, this time of League One. Maybe a win on this day is a good omen.

Albert Broadbent

Giving Football Back to Small Business

At eBay, we know small business and football clubs used to be like chips and gravy, two peas in a pod – a match made in community heaven. Ironmongers, ship workers, spring makers and cobblers, all formed clubs which decades later are still prospering. But nowadays, you’d think it was all eyewatering transfers, Super Leagues and mega sponsors, detached from the humble origins of our historic clubs. That’s why eBay are proud to support 300,000 small businesses who help power EFL clubs nationwide. We’ll be donating our advertising space to a lot of these businesses – on match day hoardings, around grounds and beyond – throughout the coming season, to ensure they can continue to thrive in our local communities. So, join us in giving your support to Small Business Power, because today, they need us more than ever.

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH

ON THIS DAY

21ST AUGUST

WORDS: John Coyle

ROVERS RESULTS ON THIS DAY:

LEVEL SEASON OPPONENT H/A RESULT ATT GOALSCORERS 3 1948/49 Mansfield Town A D 2 2 16,749 Bennett, Calverley 2 1954/55 Liverpool A L 2 3 49,751 Lawlor C (2) 4 1965/66 Lincoln City H W 4 0 11,566 Sheffield (2), Jeffrey, Ricketts 4 1971/72 Workington A L 0 2 2,394 4 1976/77 Southport A D 2 2 1,964 Laidlaw, Sibbald (og) 4 1979/80 Halifax Town A D 1 1 2,519 Warboys 3 1993/94 Carlisle United H D 0 0 2,575

NL 1999/00 Woking A W 3 1 2,358 Maamria (2), Newell

NL 2001/02 Leigh RMI H W 2 0 2,433 Whitman, Kelly (p) 3 2004/05 Tranmere Rovers H D 0 0 6,040 2 2010/11 Cardiff City A L 0 4 24,027 3 2012/13 Bury H W 2 1 6,380 Bennett, Brown 3 2018/19 Shrewsbury Town H D 0 0 6,943

DONCASTER ROVERS vs SHREWSBURY TOWN

TUESDAY 21ST AUGUST 2018 7.45PM | ISSUE 02 | £3 SKY BET LEAGUE ONE

THE OFFICIAL MATCHDAY MAGAZINE OF DONCASTER ROVERS FOOTBALL CLUB 2018/19

PORTSMOUTH ON THIS DAY: (LAST 25 YEARS)

LEVEL SEASON OPPONENT H/A RESULT ATT GOALSCORERS 2 1999/00 Stockport County H W 2 0 15,002 Miglioranzi, Allen 1 2004/05 Charlton Athletic A L 1 2 25,204 Berger 2 2010/11 Preston North End A L 0 1 9,666 3 2012/13 Colchester United A D 2 2 4,335 Rodgers, Obita 3 2018/19 Bristol Rovers A W 2 1 9,073 Evans, Curtis

To view the programme from our very first encounter with Portsmouth, please click the image if viewing digitally: