Two late goals from Dale Isaac gave the scoreline some respectability but, in truth, Chelmsford were always second best on Saturday as they went down 4-2 at Doncaster.

A 4-0 scoreline would not have flattered the home side, but Isaac struck twice in the last 11 minutes of the match as Doncaster took their foot off the pedal.

His first strike was a trademark reverse-stick shot from the edge of the D while his second, in the final minute of the game, was a deft flick into the side netting.

Had Will Rogers converted the simplest of chances shortly after Isaac's first goal, then Doncaster could have been in for an uncomfortable final few minutes.

As it was, the Chelmsford forward fluffed his chance, although player/manager Andrew Kennedy did admit after the game that a comeback had seemed unlikely at the time.

"We were clearly second best today," he said. "Until the last 10 minutes, I don't think we created a chance in the second half and it would have been an injustice to Doncaster but we snatched something at the death."

Twice in the first two minutes Chelmsford won penalty corners, only for the opportunities to go begging.

These misses soon proved to be expensive when Neil Gillespie lost the ball on his own 25-yard line in the third minute, letting in Colin Edwards to slip the ball under the advancing David Carter for the home side's first goal.

Doncaster just shaded the first half and were rewarded nine minutes before the interval when Mark Woods finished off a swift counter-attack with a spectacular shot into the roof of the Chelmsford goal for a 2-0 lead.

In a one-sided second half, Barry Middleton showed how dangerous he can be in front of goal with two clinical finishes.

Published Tuesday, March 5, 2002