Summary Doncaster had much of the play early on in the match with
Tony Roberts in the Daggers goal making a number of good saves, notably from
Paul Barnes. Doncaster turned up the pressure and should have taken the lead through
Steve Foster, whose header was cleared off the line by
John McGrath. However they took a deserved lead when
Tim Ryan's cross was headed into the net by
Paul Green. Ten minutes into the second half Doncaster were two goals in front thanks to
Dave Morley's header, which a Dagenham defender got an inadvertent hand to, with the ball rebounding in off the post. Dagenham battled on and got a goal back through
Mark Stein, who netted after a knock down from target man Steve West. They then levelled the scores when
Tarkan Mustafa scored arguably the goal of the game. He received a good ball from
Paul Terry on the right, ran at the Rovers defence and shot past
Andy Warrington into the far corner of the net. Extra time was needed and, with legs tiring, it was Doncaster who got the golden goal.
Paul Barnes broke away on the left and crossed for
Francis Tierney, who sidefooted home to send his team back into the Football League. It is the only time in UK football that promotion has been decided by the controversial
golden goal method, officially known as "Promotion Goal" in this match. The pitch was subsequently invaded by Doncaster Rovers fans, including one wearing an oversized jester's hat who managed to circle the ground before being caught by police.
Details {{Football box •
Stein •
Mustafa •
Green •
Morley •
Tierney ==References==