Both looking to make a return to League One at the second attempt, Doncaster Rovers and Crewe Alexandra will meet for the second leg of their League Two playoff semi-final at Eco-Power Stadium on Friday night.
The Rovers possess a commanding lead following Monday afternoon's meeting at the Mornflake Stadium, where the Railwaymen's poor form from the end of the regular season continued.
Match preview
© Reuters
In the wider context, Doncaster Rovers managed to extend their unbeaten run in League Two to a highly-impressive 13 matches with a 2-0 victory over Crewe in the first leg on Bank Holiday Monday, placing one foot on the Wembley turf where either Crawley Town or MK Dons will await for a final clash.
Stepping up once again in the big moments for the Rovers, winger Luke Molyneux provided an emphatic finish to put the visitors one goal ahead at the Mornflake Stadium, before a costly mistake from Crewe captain Mickey Demetriou allowed Harrison Biggins to double his side's advantage in the tie.
Grant McCann has his Doncaster team in an excellent vein of form heading into Friday's second-leg clash at the Eco-Power Stadium, last tasting defeat in League Two on March 2, when Doncaster made the trip to playoff-chasing Walsall and suffered an out-of-character 3-1 loss.
The Rovers' recent record in South Yorkshire makes grim reading for those of a Crewe persuasion ahead of Friday's decider, with Doncaster currently enjoying an eight-game unbeaten run in home matches, meaning that the hosts will be confident of easing through to the final.
A key factor behind Doncaster's resurgence in form over the past few months has been the January arrival of Lincoln City loanee Hakeeb Adelakun, who - after providing 16 goal contributions in 20 League Two - is unsurprisingly being labelled as a 'cheat code' by sections of the fanbase.
Despite finishing the regular season on the same number of League Two points, Crewe find themselves miles behind Doncaster heading into the second leg on Friday, with Alex manager Liam Bell claiming that the Rovers used their superior experience to collect an impressive result at the Mornflake Stadium.
Having threatened to sneak into the top-three spots during the early part of the campaign, the Railwaymen are now enduring a run of just the single win in their last 10 League Two matches, leaving them as massive underdogs as they look to salvage the tie in South Yorkshire.
Speaking after the game, Crewe's 34-year-old captain Demetriou vowed that his side were not done in the semi-final yet, pointing to their decent away record as a source for cautious optimism, with their most-recent success coming at Mazuma Mobile Stadium versus Morecambe on April 9.
As is the case for Doncaster's Joe Ironside, Elliott Nevitt is enjoying a productive campaign in front of goal at this level during 2023-24, making the net ripple on 16 occasions in 43 appearances, with the 27-year-old representing the most likely source of a magical moment for the visitors on Friday.
A repeat of March's meeting between these two sides at the Eco-Power Stadium would see Doncaster cruise into the Wembley final at a canter, with McCann's troops recording a 2-0 victory over Crewe in Yorkshire, where loanee Adelakun and Tommy Rowe breached the net of Tom Booth.
Team News
© Reuters
Doncaster are sweating over the fitness of midfielder Matthew Craig after he was forced off due to a knock to the foot on Monday, but McCann is expecting the 21-year-old to be available.
Following his goal last time out, Biggins was quickly substituted to manage his minutes, meaning that the likes of Rowe and Kyle Hurst are set to start on the bench once again.
With a combined age of 68, a centre-back pairing of Richard Wood and Thomas Anderson will look to record back-to-back clean sheets in this tie.
Fresh from signing a new two-year deal at Crewe, Conor Thomas could be in line to be promoted from the bench on Friday as the visitors aim to produce an unlikely comeback.
The 30-year-old could earn a starting berth at the expense of either Josh Austerfield or Joel Tabiner, with Bell potentially opting to freshen up his engine room.
Doncaster Rovers possible starting lineup:
Lo-Tutala; Sterry, Wood, Anderson, Maxwell; Bailey, Craig; Molyneux, Biggins, Adelakun; Ironside
Crewe Alexandra possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Billington, Demetriou, Williams; Cooney, Thomas, Tabiner, Adebisi; Tracey, Holicek, Nevitt
We say: Doncaster Rovers 2-1 Crewe Alexandra (Doncaster win 4-1 on aggregate)
With the knowledge that Crewe need to wipe out a two-goal deficit, an in-form Doncaster side should be confident of taking advantage of lapses in defensive concentration from their opponents on Friday.
The Railwaymen's form over recent months does not scream playoff success, and we feel that their dreams of promotion to League One will end in South Yorkshire.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
