08 Oct 1988 Doncaster Rovers v Hartlepool United1-0League Division Four

[Colemans Left Hook]

08 Oct 1988   Doncaster Rovers v Hartlepool United       1-0   League Division Four

Score   1-0 to Doncaster Rovers
Competition   League Division Four
Attendance   2,091

Can someone please confirm Mark Rankine  wearing No.9  AND PLAYING CENTER FORWARD scored the winner in the Airport end for definite  and I will continue the spiel

[Harrogate Rover]

Mark Rankine did indeed score the winner and was wearing the no.9 shirt. In gact ,according to Tony Bluff's History of Donny book, he wore the no.9 shirt in all 46 league games, finishing joint top scorer on 11 goals, along with Paul Dobson, who only started 22 games before falling out with Dave Mackay and joining Scarborough. Rovers never replaced Dobson or his goals, slid down the table and were relegated!

The team line up was; 1. Paul Malcolm, 2. Colin Douglas, 3. Ronnie Robinson, 4. Lee Turnbull, 5. Stuart Beattie, 6. Paul Raven, 7. Les Robinson, 8. Gerry Daly,     9. Mark Rankine, 10. Paul Dobson, 11. Gary Kimble.  The used sub was Paul Gorman ( not sure who he replaced), and Steve Gaughan was an unused sub.

[JonWallsend]

Mark Rankine did indeed score the winner and was wearing the no.9 shirt. In gact ,according to Tony Bluff's History of Donny book, he wore the no.9 shirt in all 46 league games, finishing joint top scorer on 11 goals, along with Paul Dobson, who only started 22 games before falling out with Dave Mackay and joining Scarborough. Rovers never replaced Dobson or his goals, slid down the table and were relegated!

The team line up was; 1. Paul Malcolm, 2. Colin Douglas, 3. Ronnie Robinson, 4. Lee Turnbull, 5. Stuart Beattie, 6. Paul Raven, 7. Les Robinson, 8. Gerry Daly,     9. Mark Rankine, 10. Paul Dobson, 11. Gary Kimble.  The used sub was Paul Gorman ( not sure who he replaced), and Steve Gaughan was an unused sub.

I remember  a few weeks  after this watching Paul Dobson getting a brace
 in a 2 nil  victory  at Crewe.
We tailed away badly that season and didn't  secure safety until very late on. However  it was nearly another 10 years until we were relegated

[Harrogate Rover]

Mark Rankine did indeed score the winner and was wearing the no.9 shirt. In gact ,according to Tony Bluff's History of Donny book, he wore the no.9 shirt in all 46 league games, finishing joint top scorer on 11 goals, along with Paul Dobson, who only started 22 games before falling out with Dave Mackay and joining Scarborough. Rovers never replaced Dobson or his goals, slid down the table and were relegated!

The team line up was; 1. Paul Malcolm, 2. Colin Douglas, 3. Ronnie Robinson, 4. Lee Turnbull, 5. Stuart Beattie, 6. Paul Raven, 7. Les Robinson, 8. Gerry Daly,     9. Mark Rankine, 10. Paul Dobson, 11. Gary Kimble.  The used sub was Paul Gorman ( not sure who he replaced), and Steve Gaughan was an unused sub.

I remember  a few weeks  after this watching Paul Dobson getting a brace
 in a 2 nil  victory  at Crewe.
We tailed away badly that season and didn't  secure safety until very late on. However  it was nearly another 10 years until we were relegated

I stand corrected! I'd looked at the League table and saw we finished 23rd and assumed we'd gone down.

[Herbert Anchovy]

Mark Rankine did indeed score the winner and was wearing the no.9 shirt. In gact ,according to Tony Bluff's History of Donny book, he wore the no.9 shirt in all 46 league games, finishing joint top scorer on 11 goals, along with Paul Dobson, who only started 22 games before falling out with Dave Mackay and joining Scarborough. Rovers never replaced Dobson or his goals, slid down the table and were relegated!

The team line up was; 1. Paul Malcolm, 2. Colin Douglas, 3. Ronnie Robinson, 4. Lee Turnbull, 5. Stuart Beattie, 6. Paul Raven, 7. Les Robinson, 8. Gerry Daly,     9. Mark Rankine, 10. Paul Dobson, 11. Gary Kimble.  The used sub was Paul Gorman ( not sure who he replaced), and Steve Gaughan was an unused sub.

I was absolutely raging that we let Dobson go. He was a great striker at that level and we could easily have built a good team around him and the good youth players who were coming through. Some good players in that line up. They were the days when we sold anyone who showed any footballing talent at the first opportunity though.

[craigdrfc]

I was another of the Dobson fan-club. Shockingly bad decision to punt him out when we did.

[Branton Rover]

Wasn’t Dobson sold because he was scoring too many goals there was a clause in his contract which stated something like we have to pay Torquay another £5k when he scores 15 goals. From memory he was on 14 & never played again.

[Colemans Left Hook]

That fact Branton came out with shows little bits of Rovers history that perhaps less than a handful of us know and in time will be lost to history. At least they might be saved by posting on here ?

I always remember that Rankine goal like yesterday along with a handful of other obscure ? events

another example was when we beat Preston at home in say the league cup. We got a corner in about the 90th minute and Alick Jeffrey took it and BACKHEALED IT for a throw in to them !  presumably 1-0 ?

David harle scoring (on the rebound ?) from a free kick against QPR 1-0 ?

That Crewe goalkeeper Bruce Grobbelaar who ttok a throw in ( I mentioned that on here in the last year)

ok back to the Hartlepool match  for once I decided

 to watch the match at the airport end - i don't think there was a Hartlepool fan to be seen behind that goal and the people there were  positioned like missionaries

and pre-kick off - i couldn't help noticing two  women and a man plus two small children (boys -no girls !!). grouped  a few steps below me to my right.   It was obvious that they were Mark Rankines relatives.

It took me til this century ( well over 12 years and the res) to realise that those two boys  almost certainly became professional footballers !!!  - along with other relations.

Mark was in the centre of the goal in the penalty area at the airport end and the ball broke loose and he swiveled around  just like Adelekun did last saturday   (well we all knew how nimble-athletic he was)

When I saw saw Adelekun's goal i thought I've seen that goal before for us -- funny thing is both matches were 1-0 for what it's worth.

Obviously I was pleased for them and me at the time   - I never thought to see their reaction.

it was a pretty boring game for the 2,000+ crowd 

 

So the next question is who were those two small boys who were maybe 10 plus or minus two years ?

[RoversInSpain]

Danny and Mitch Rose ?