TOUGH IRONSIDE EARNS REWARD

IN-FORM Doncaster striker Joe Ironside has insisted that he never lost faith in his marksmanship prowess despite joining the club in the midst of his longest lean spell since being a Sheffield United rookie.

- Dave Flett

Ironside, 30, equalled his best goal tally in a single EFL season on New Year’s Day, netting for the 15th time in 2023-24 as Rovers swept aside MK Dons 3-0 to build on a promising 1-1 draw at Mansfield three days earlier.

He plundered that exact amount two campaigns ago for previous club Cambridge United when his haul included a memorable FA Cup winner at Newcastle’s St James’ Park.

But Ironside left the Abbey Stadium in the summer having failed to net in his last 15 outings for the U’s and, when he didn’t get off the mark in his first three games for Doncaster, he had gone more than six months – from Valentine’s Day to mid-August – without making the scoresheet.

That frustrating period represented his most fruitless time in front of goal since he went 23 appearances without hitting the target for the Blades as a teenage hopeful before eventually breaking his career duck on loan at Hartlepool.

His Rovers renaissance, though, has seen him score at a rate only previously witnessed during four seasons as a National League North forward with Kidderminster Harriers and Nuneaton Town.