Doncaster Rovers travel to Arsenal on Wednesday evening in Carabao Cup Round Three with a view of knocking out the two-time League Cup champions.
The two sides last met in this very tournament at the quarter-final stage in 2005. On a memorable night under the lights at Belle Vue, Rovers gave their Premier League opponents a scare and were just moments away from victory, before a last-minute goal for the Gunners took the game to penalties, with the top-tier outfit progressing to the last four. Rovers’ run to this stage of the competition has seen them travel to Bradford City and win, and knock-out Sky Bet Championship side, Hull City.
Rovers’ run to this stage of the competition has seen them travel to Bradford City and win, and knock-out Sky Bet Championship side, Hull City.
The excitement was building around the town for Darren Ferguson’s side on Monday as the Carabao Cup Trophy was brought to the town centre, giving fans a chance have their photo taken with the silverware and meet the club’s Captain Andy Butler. The defender spoke to the EFL and was adamant his team’s run could continue. “Who knows what will happen,” he explained. “It’s a one-off game, we’re the underdogs, and the pressure is on them to make it through, on our day anything can happen.
“Who knows what will happen,” he explained. “It’s a one-off game, we’re the underdogs, and the pressure is on them to make it through, on our day anything can happen. “The whole town and the team has been buzzing since the draw. I didn’t watch it, but the young lads in the squad were messaging us all in a group chat as soon as the draw was made, my phone was going mad!"
“The whole town and the team has been buzzing since the draw. I didn’t watch it, but the young lads in the squad were messaging us all in a group chat as soon as the draw was made, my phone was going mad!"
Doncaster are expecting a following of around 5,000 in the capital, and Butler admitted that the squad owe them for their commitment.
“It’s fantastic that we’ve got so many fans going down. They’ve put their hand in their pocket to come and watch us play so we want to repay them and put on the best performance possible.
“It’s not every day you get to go and watch Doncaster Rovers play a Premier League side, so it gives everyone a good day out and hopefully one to remember."
While Butler was not a member of the 2005 team that played Arsenal, veteran James Coppinger still has fond memories of that night that he shared with the squad.
“Copps [James Coppinger] has told us all about the game from 2005 as he played in that one. From hearing his stories we were unlucky that night, so it would be nice to go down there and pull off a win this time.”