How we reported Doncaster Rovers' glorious return to the Football League on 'Sir' Francis Tierney Day

Five years earlier it seemed that Doncaster Rovers were heading into the abyss with little prospect of returning.
Rovers goalscorers Francis Tierney, Dave Morley and Paul Green celebrate promotion to the Football LeagueRovers goalscorers Francis Tierney, Dave Morley and Paul Green celebrate promotion to the Football League
Rovers goalscorers Francis Tierney, Dave Morley and Paul Green celebrate promotion to the Football League

The crushing relegation from the Football League in 1998 after the decimation of the club under Ken Richardson looked to have delivered the final nail in the coffin.

Fast forward five years and Rovers were on their way back, powered by the limitless ambition of owner John Ryan.

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It culminated in extra time of the first ever Conference play-off final, played at Stoke City, with Rovers taking on Dagenham and Redbridge for a place in Division Three.

Rovers celebrate promotion back to the Football LeagueRovers celebrate promotion back to the Football League
Rovers celebrate promotion back to the Football League

And a rollercoaster game was sealed with a golden goal from the man who came to be known as ‘Sir’ Francis Tierney.

Here, we bring you our match report from that day in May 2003, written by our former colleague Steve Hossack.

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Francis Tierney was the toast of Doncaster on Saturday night as Rovers fans celebrated the club's return to the Football League after five years in the Nationwide Conference.

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The midfielder secured his place in Belle Vue history by poking the ball home from close range in the 109th minute to clinch victory for Rovers in their promotion play-off final at the Britannia Stadium.

Substitute Gregg Blundell, who bravely played on after sustaining a cut following a clash of heads with Daggers skipper Lee Matthews, instigated the move by sending skipper Paul Barnes racing into the area with a pass down the left.

Rather than chance his luck with an angled shot, the veteran striker wisely laid the ball off to Tierney in front of goal.

"I couldn't really miss from five yards out, " said the modest hero after the game. "In any case, it made up for missing a couple of earlier chances."

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One of the chances Tierney referred to came when the score stood at 2-0 to Rovers.

Jamie Paterson, who won promotion with Halifax the year Rovers were relegated from the Third Division, floated in a cross from the right which Tierney met at the far post.

In all likelihood a third goal at that stage would have killed the game off - though the Daggers did come back from 3-0 down to claim a 3-3 draw at The Shay in the league. But Tierney completely missed the target with a free header.

The Essex side rode their luck and hauled themselves back into contention with a goal by leading scorer Mark Stein.

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The 37 year-old, who lists Stoke as one of his former clubs, did the business when getting the better of centre-back Steve Foster and then beating keeper Andy Warrington from close range on 64 minutes after fellow striker Steve West had flicked on a long ball down the right by defender Tim Cole.

The hero of the semi-final second leg at Chester on Monday, Warrington had a relatively quiet afternoon. But he produced the goods when Danny Shipp tried his luck from 25 yards.

His Dagenham counterpart, Tony Roberts, certainly had a much busier time of things. He needed to be at his best to deny Barnes making it 3-1 from six yards.

Full-back Takan Mustafa showed just why Rovers boss Dave Penney was so keen to sign him following a loan spell at the club in mid-season when levelling the scores with an angled shot on 77 minutes after cutting in at pace from the right.

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The Daggers finished normal time on top. The estimated 9,000 Doncaster fans in the 13,000 crowd were very subdued during the last 20 minutes, and must have feared the worst at the start of extra-time.

But Tierney, who missed over half the season with an Achilles tendon injury, repaid his teammates for keeping the promotion bandwagon rolling during his absence by scoring the winnner.

There had been only one team in it in the first half. Only a a series of brilliant saves by Roberts and some last-ditch defending kept the blunt Daggers in the game.

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