FA Cup magic is on the cards tomorrow as Doncaster Rovers have the chance to produce the upset of the weekend in their knockout match against Peterborough United.
League Two’s Rovers travel to Peterborough for their Second Round match-up knowing they are just one win away from the opportunity to take on Premier League opposition.
However, they must first defeat a high-flying Peterborough side who sit 36 places higher in the League One play-off places, with Doncaster 17th in the division below.
Manager Grant McCann is very familiar with the opposition having managed Peterborough in several spells including as recently as last season, as well as making 186 appearances for the club as a player, but is uninterested in getting distracted by emotion.
McCann said: “We’re not treating this game any differently just because it’s Peterborough. I think everyone will have it down as a Peterborough win, but hopefully we can have other ideas and go there and give it a go.”
Doncaster only narrowly reached the Second Round after defeating Accrington Stanley 2-1 in extra time of their First Round replay.
While their league campaign has been below par so far with the side marooned in mid-table adrift from the play-off places, a 3-1 home victory against Colchester on Tuesday helped to restore some confidence ahead of their cup clash.
Rovers have already come close to knockout success this season when they narrowly lost 2-1 at home to top-flight Everton in the League Cup in August, but the defeat has only made 21-year-old left-back James Maxwell more eager to win on Saturday.
Maxwell said: “One of the favourite games of my career so far has been that Everton game just for the atmosphere and seeing the stadium full and feeling the buzz around the place, and we want to achieve that again.”
Peterborough will be confident of progressing to the Third Round themselves after a strong start to the season has seen them score the joint-most goals in League One and sit just four points off the top of the table.
However, Posh had to rely on penalties to beat League Two Salford City in the previous round of the FA Cup having drawn 2-2 at home and 4-4 away.
Kick-off is at 3pm tomorrow at the Weston Homes Stadium.
