Next Up: Exeter City vs Doncaster Rovers

City’s Good Friday defeat at relegation rivals Blackpool has opened up a gap that is starting to look ominous, and while Monday’s fixture isn’t quite last chance saloon, defeat will surely mean the odds are on City having to adjust to life back in the basement. The returning Magennis and Tutierov made appearances off the bench, while Ethan Brierley didn’t make the squad – his appearances have been noticeably limited since Matt Taylor returned to the club having played a starring role under Gary Caldwell. With the games coming thick and fast Taylor may bring in fresh faces such as Cole and Brierley as he looks for his first win in his second spell in charge.

A month or so ago Doncaster and City were in pretty much the opposite situation with the South Yorkshire side looking up at City from the relegation spots. A run of three wins and two draws in five matches turned the tables and, despite a 2-0 home defeat to Mansfield on Good Friday, Rovers are now looking pretty good for a second season in League One following their promotion last season. Grant McCann was well backed in the January window with three permanent and four loan signings, but it has been Owen Bailey who has stood out with 12 league goals alongside seasoned campaigner Luke Molyneux with eight. Veteran Billy Sharp, who celebrated his 40th birthday in February, has continued to feature regularly and has been scoring for fun in the cups if not the league with six goals in their run to the EFL Trophy semi final. He has, however, not featured in the last couple of weeks.

Molyneux was the scorer in the reverse fixture on the opening day in a poor match that finished 1-0 to the hosts. Doncaster were also the victors the last time they made the long trip to SJP in November 2016 – Reuben Reid gave City the lead from the spot only for Rovers to come back to win 3-1 through Mandeville and a Marquis double. Those wins have extended Doncaster’s league head to head lead to 23-17, while surprisingly only five times have the spoils been shared.

The match officials for the game will be:-

Referee: Alan Dale
Assistant Referees: Marcus Carmichael and Dean Treleaven
Fourth Official: Isaac Searle

Although Alan Dale has been around as an official for many years, this will be his first time as the referee. He has been the fourth official a couple of times. This season he’s taken charge of 14 games, yellow carded 48 players, and sent off three players.

Interview with Kevin Nicholson

Interview with Jack Aitchison