For January 29th I'm going back 39 years to 1982 and the first of my 5 visits to the inaccurately named Belle Vue, Doncaster which was demolished in 2007 and was renowned for having the largest playing area in the Football League.
This was a Third Division game between 2 relegation contenders watched by 5,849. Wimbledon were something of a yo-yo side in their early Football League years and ended up getting relegated on goal difference this time around. Wimbledon had only attained Football League status in 1977/78 and, after their first season of consolidation, their record read promoted, relegated, promoted, relegated, promoted, promoted in 6 successive seasons! In this season, Rovers ended up 3 points better off than the Dons and were safe for another season.
The match finished Rovers 1 Dons 3. Billy Bremner was managing Rovers and his side included Terry Cooper and the Snodin brothers (see programme cover). Wimbledon were under the fledgling management of Dave Bassett and included Dave Beasant in goal later to become famous for that penalty save in the 1988 FA Cup Final. A sad footnote was that Dave Clement (ex QPR and England), Wimbledon's number 2 on this particular Friday evening, committed suicide only a little over 2 months later aged just 34. RIP Dave.
CRB Match No. 147
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