Tyreece John-Jules continued his return to action with two strong performances as Doncaster Rovers record back-to-back home wins to move into the top six.
John-Jules started up front for the 2-1 win against Gillingham last Saturday, playing 81 minutes and making a key contribution to both Rovers goals. He almost opened the scoring himself inside the first half an hour. Winger Josh Sims cut the ball back from the right-hand side and John-Jules did well to work space for a shot on his left foot, only to pull his shot slightly wide of the post.
Not to be deterred, the young striker continued to work hard for the team, leading the press and marshalling the Gills defensive line well. Rovers took a deserved lead on 29 minutes through Reece James, and it was John-Jules who got the assist after bringing a rebounded ball under his control and sliding a pass through a crowded penalty area for James to prod in.
Although he was unable to find the net himself, he continued to play a big role for the team and was again involved when Rovers retook the lead through Brad Halliday. A counter-attacking move saw John-Jules take up a position on the left flank and he centred the ball for Ben Whiteman to shoot on target, with Halliday pouncing on the rebound.
By the time he was substituted in the 81st minute, John-Jules was cutting a frustrated figure despite playing well as he was unable to score, summed up by his last chance when he was set up by Taylor Richards to the right of the goal only to curl a low effort wide. He kicked the air and threw his gloves down in response, and said afterwards that he had “left his shooting boots at home” but that shouldn’t detract from what was a superb central attacking performance.
John-Jules led the line again on Tuesday night against Swindon Town, another game in which Rovers ran out 2-1 winners, but the young Gunner was unable to really get into the game as much as he would have liked and it was Reece James who netted both of the team’s goals.
Tyreece played his part in the attack as a lone frontman but found chances hard to come by, and was unable to find much in the way of a meaningful contribution in front of goal. However, his hold-up play was solid and he was regularly able to bring teammates into the game, often opening up the space for the likes of James and Taylor Richards to burst into and get shots away through the middle.
His best chance came on the hour mark, taking a pass from substitute Jon Taylor inside the area and firing at goal but his effort wasn’t strong enough to trouble the Swindon keeper. This was a recurring theme all night for Rovers’ attackers in spite of the fact that they did win the game, and if he had been able to get on the ball in the final third more often John-Jules would have likely done more with the chance.
Having come through two games in a matter of days with no problems, and having contributed strongly to the goals against Gillingham especially, it appears as though Tyreece John-Jules is back to match fitness and ready to kick on for a run of games over Christmas that could cement his status as Doncaster’s first-choice striker.