by Adam Stubbings

Rovers fought hard to earn a deserved point away at league leaders Burton last Saturday, stretching our unbeaten run to five games in all competitions going into the Christmas weekend. The team should take plenty of positives from the 3-3 draw despite losing the lead in the dying minutes, and the visit of local rivals Scunthorpe presents the perfect opportunity to get back to winning ways and give us all a belated Christmas present.

Fans of the Iron might not like it, but the ‘DN Derby’ has been dominated by the Red & White side of the border for almost a decade now. As has been mentioned often in the build-up, Rovers are currently on a seven game winning run against Scunthorpe, and we appear to be meeting at a favourable time once again. 8 points in the last four games compared to Scunthorpe’s 4 have seen us move ahead of the Clarets in the table, and victory on Boxing Day will give us a shot at ending 2015 back in the top half of the table and looking at a realistic push for the Play Offs in the New Year.

Rovers have netted at least 3 goals in each of the last four matches played between the teams at the Keepmoat, with a 5-2 drubbing on the final day of last season our latest triumph.  Nathan Tyson netted a hat trick that day, and also scored the winner at Glanford Park in a 2-1 comeback victory earlier in the season. Indeed our only defeat to Scunthorpe since we last met on Boxing Day (a 1-0 victory in our Division 3 championship campaign) was a 2-0 away loss dealt by Billy Sharp and Andy Keogh in one of Sean O’Driscoll’s first games in charge. Since then we have earned two draws, the second of which was a controversial game in which we had two men sent off and threw a two-goal lead to a last minute penalty, a match which also saw Sharp bag his first of many goals for the Rovers, and seven straight wins beginning with a 4-3 result that went down as one of the best matches in Keepmoat Stadium history, Shelton Martis heading home a late winner.

This tie really has seen it all over the years, and Darren Ferguson will know exactly what is expected of his team in such a fixture. He should have the majority of the squad available to call upon, with free kick hero Paul Keegan pushing for a start in midfield. Cedric Evina struggled against Burton but has a fantastic opportunity to hit the ground running again on Boxing Day, whilst Andy Williams and Nathan Tyson should both be afforded the chance to continue their recent good scoring runs. Gary McSheffrey and Tom Hopper are the long-term absentees for the visitors, with Stephen Dawson returning to the bench after a long lay-off in the home loss to Sheffield United last weekend.

by Adam Stubbings

The late, late show against Crewe will go down as one of the greatest moments in Keepmoat history, oddly enough up there with another 3-2 comeback win over Crewe in 2007, a result that sent us to Wembley courtesy of Jason Price's last minute winner. Rovers are in high gear now heading into the Christmas fixtures, and head to league leaders Burton brimming with confidence and belief. Defensive lapses belied a dominant display hampered only by the adverse playing conditions last weekend, and the ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat is a rare attribute in a Doncaster Rovers side.

Our current four game unbeaten run includes a terrific draw away at Coventry, top of the league at the time. Saturday's opponents Burton are now back at the summit of League One and on a four match winning run of their own, but are stepping into the relative unknown when they face the Rovers with new manager Nigel Clough set for his first game in charge of the Brewers in nearly seven years. In 11 years as player-manager, Clough guided Burton from the Unibond League to the brink of the Football League before departing for illustrious neighbours Derby, but returns to a club now at the highest point in their history and with expectations of keeping their place at the top. Their game saw a superb 3-0 victory over promotion rivals Gillingham, the team who handed Paul Dickov his final defeat as Rovers boss back in September.

Four days prior to that result, Rovers and Burton met in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy. A drab affair was scoreless at full time, and Rovers won 5-3 on penalties to advance. We also defeated Burton in last year's competition, running out comfortable 3-0 winners at the Pirelli Stadium but these are the only two meetings between the sides since both played in the Conference in 2003. Rovers actually take a 100% record against Burton into this weekend's fixture, but this will surely be the toughest of the five matches to date with our opponents five points clear at the top and boasting the best defence in the league. Clough was at the helm for those non-league meetings over a decade ago, but more recently guided Sheffield United to a pair of derby victories over Rovers last season.

Dany N'Guessan and Gary Mackenzie remain sidelined for Rovers, but Felipe Mattioni may be fit enough to return to the bench. Young trio Cedric Evina, Mitchell Lund and Harry Middleton all signed welcome new contracts this week and should be on the teamsheet again here, whilst Burton will be without midfielders Robbie Weir and Zeli Ismail as well as defender Shane Cansdell-Sherriff, whilst former Rovers winger Mark Duffy is expected to line-up against his former club.

by Adam Stubbings

Rovers booked their place in the 3rd Round of the F.A. Cup last time out with a superb second half comeback against League 2 Cambridge. Having fallen behind to an extremely dubious penalty, three goals in 11 minutes after the interval turned the tie on its' head in front of the BBC Final Score cameras, with Conor Grant netting twice, his second an outstanding curling effort from outside the box. The reward is Stoke City in Round 3, but until then there is the small matter of continuing to try and revive our fortunes in the league. Crewe are the visitors this weekend, fresh from a week off owing to their F.A. Cup 1st Round defeat at the hands of non-league Eastleigh a month ago.

Since then, Steve Davis' side have had an upturn in fortunes and have hauled themselves off the foot of the League One table. Successive wins over fellow strugglers Colchester and Oldham leave the Alex just a point shy of safety and five points behind Rovers. We are now unbeaten in three matches and return to the Keepmoat off the back of an impressive away draw against high-flying Coventry, and a sublime home win against Chesterfield in our last Keepmoat outing.

Rovers are unbeaten in three meetings with Saturday's opponents, winning this fixture 2-1 last season courtesy of goals from the now departed duo of Dean Furman and Richie Wellens, completing a 90th minute comeback win after an early goal from George Ray on a Tuesday night in February. Crewe haven't defeated us in the league since taking a 2-0 win on our turf in the League One title-winning campaign, the awe-inspiring midfield of James Harper and Martin Woods somehow failing to steer Rovers to a victory.

Loanees Conor Grant and Craig Alcock both extended their stays at the club this week, meaning they will be available through the Christmas period and into the New Year. Mitchell Lund scored his first senior goal in an impressive display last weekend after returning to the side to replace the injured Felipe Mattioni, and there are no new injury concerns for Darren Ferguson ahead of the game with Richard Chaplow and Rob Jones the only long-term absentees.

The club have today announced ticket pricing details for the Emirates FA Cup round three clash with Stoke City, and it's great news for supporters!

The match, to be played at the Keepmoat Stadium on Saturday 9th January 2016, has been priced at just £15 for an adult ticket, with junior fans tickets starting at just £1.  The full ticket prices for all categories are :

Adult	£15.00
Seniors	£10.00
17-21	£8.00
12-16	£5.00
11 and under	£1.00

This is the first time the two teams have met since the Rovers beat Stoke 3-1 in the League Cup in 1960, and the Premier League outfit will surely send a strong side to contest a place in the Round 4 draw.

Tickets go on sale from Monday for season ticket holders with their seats held until 31st December.  Alliance members will also be able to buy from Monday, and have priority until 20th December.  

Supporters with a ticket for the Scunthorpe home game can buy from 21st December, with general sale commencing on 28th December.

As supporters may be aware, there was an incident during the last home match with Chesterfield which resulted in VSC Secretary Martin O'Hara being ejected from the stadium.

The trust is delighted to be able to inform supporters that the club have apologised to Martin for this action, having conducted an investigation and found that he did nothing to warrant this outcome.  Both the trust and Martin as an individual would like to thank the club for reaching the correct decision.

Furthermore, this incident has opened the way for a very productive debate with the club around stewarding standards and the important role stewards play in both supporter safety and customer service.  Many stewards in the stadium deliver their matchday role to a very high standard, and this is regularly recognised and commented upon by supporters, but what this incident has highlighted is that there is always room for improvement.  The Football Supporters Federation will be assisting the club to become a leader in positive matchday stewarding and help ensure supporters are treated both fairly and consistently through this approach.  

The trust recognises this as a very positive step for the benefit of all supporters attending matches at the Keepmoat Stadium.