When you get in the habit of watching live football, any live football, to the point of consuming live football, every season runs the risk of stumbling to a conclusion. A desperate scramble to watch tenth tier league cup finals and rearranged reserve team play-offs in order to get one last hit before the reality of the football-free, barbecue-smoke backed summer months hit home. For me, and 33,279 others, there was no danger of this season petering out in such a way. That’s because, ahead of us all the way through, firmly in our calendars since last summer, our end-of-season boss level awaited; Wales versus Belgium… and it didn’t disappoint.
This was, and always will be, the season of Wales. Together, stronger; from no-hopers to worthy defeaters of all-comers, in just six matches. I’d long vowed that for Wales’ Euro 2016 qualifying campaign I would be there for every minute, and so far so good. All those minutes are here in this gallery, from Pyrenean sunsets to Israeli incredulity; ending with what can already be referred to as that night in Cardiff. My 49th match of the season, and quite simply the most incredible, bewildering atmosphere I have ever been part of at a football match. Still now, the goosepimples rise just from typing reference to it.
Given all I experienced through 540 minutes in the company of the national team, everything else from this season pales in significance. Though on occasion Doncaster Rovers were brilliant, too often they were painfully and forgettably nondescript. When the cost of admission was justified it was largely down to one man; James Coppinger, 449 games into his Rovers career and still my favourite footballer, despite me being far too old to justify having one. Against Barnsley in February he plucked a ball out of the stratosphere with a one touch turn so deft his marker was left wandering round the East Stand concourse before he could realise what had happened.
With Rovers a hard watch at hard prices non-league gleefully satisfied the cravings between international weekends. And it offered up a mixed-bag too, from a heaving, packed out Champion Hill on non-league day to a crowd so sparse at Lewisham Borough that the chairman came over to introduce himself, purely because he didn’t recognise me.
Wherever I went, from Tooting to Tel Aviv, I made sure to take at least one photo with my phone of the games I saw. And those photos are here, a document of the most incredible season my nation has seen in decades, and all that helped fill the gaps along the way.
Match 1 | July
Millwall Lionesses 0-0 Doncaster Rovers Belles
FA Women’s Super League 2, Eden Park Avenue (Beckenham Town)
Match 2 | July
Tooting & Mitcham United 2-1 Kingstonian
pre-season friendly, Imperial Fields
Match 3 | August
Dulwich Hamlet 3-2 Harrow Borough
Isthmian League Premier Division, Champion Hill
Match 4 | August
Sporting Bengal United 1-2 FC Clacton
FA Cup Extra Preliminary Round, Mile End Stadium
Match 5 | August
Colchester United 0-1 Doncaster Rovers
League One, Colchester Community Stadium
Match 6 | August
Oxford United 1-5 Doncaster Rovers Belles
FA Women’s Super League 2, Northcourt Road (Abingdon United)
Match 7 | August
Watford 1-2 Doncaster Rovers
League Cup 2nd round, Vicarage Road
Match 8 | August
Doncaster Rovers 0-2 Oldham Athletic
League One, Keepmoat Stadium
Match 9 | September
Dulwich Hamlet 2-2 Hampton & Richmond Borough
Isthmian League Premier Division, Champion Hill
Match 10 | September
Watford 1-3 Doncaster Rovers Belles
FA Women’s Super League 2, Broadwater (Berkhamsted)
Match 11 | September
Andorra 1-2 Wales
UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifier, Estadi Nacional
Match 12 | September
Greenwich Borough 1-0 Chessington & Hook United
FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round, Princess Park
Match 13 | September
Meridian VP 1-0 Seven Acre & Sidcup
Kent Invicta League, Meridian Sports & Social Club
Match 14 | September
Fulham 2-1 Doncaster Rovers
League Cup 3rd round, Craven Cottage
Match 15 | September
Walsall 3-0 Doncaster Rovers
League One, Bescott Stadium
Match 16 | October
Wales 0-0 Bosnia Herzegovina
UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifier, Cardiff City Stadium
Match 17 | October
Port Talbot Town 2-0 Bangor City
Welsh Premier League, Victoria Road (‘The Sand Siro’)
Match 18 | October
Cardiff City Women 2-1 Llandudno
Welsh Women’s Premier League, Leckwith
Match 19 | October
Wales 2-1 Cyprus
UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifier, Cardiff City Stadium
Match 20 | October
Doncaster Rovers 0-0 Milton Keynes Dons
League One, Keepmoat Stadium
Match 21 | October
London Bees 0-9 Doncaster Rovers Belles
FA Women’s Super League 2, The Hive
Match 22 | November
Clapton 0-5 FC Romamia
Essex Senior League, The Old Spotted Dog Ground
Match 23 | November
Weston-Super-Mare P-P Doncater Rovers
FA Cup 1st round, Woodspring Stadium
Match 24 | November
Royale Union Saint-Gilloise 0-2 Sprimont-Comblain
Belgian 3rd Division, Stade Joseph Marien
Match 25 | November
Belgium 0-0 Wales
UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifier, King Baudouin Stadium
Match 26 | November
Dulwich Hamlet 2-1 Kingstonian
Isthmian League Premier Division, Champion Hill
Match 27 | December
Doncaster Rovers 1-2 Gillingham
League One, Keepmoat Stadium
Match 28 | December
Swindon Town 0-1 Doncaster Rovers
League One, County Ground
Match 29 | December
Whitstable Town 4-1 Herne Bay
Isthmian League Division One South, The Belmont Ground
Match 30 | January
Dulwich Hamlet 4-1 Leatherhead
Isthmian League Premier Division, Champion Hill
Match 31 | January
Lewisham Borough 1-2 Kent Football United
Kent Invicta League, Ladywell Arena
Match 32 | January
Clapton 1-2 Harringey Borough
Essex Senior League, The Old Spotted Dog Ground
Match 33 | January
Doncaster Rovers 1-0 Barnsley
League One, Keepmoat Stadium
Match 34 | January
Carshalton Athletic 3-1 East Grinstead Town
Isthmian League Division One South, War Memorial Sports Ground
Match 35 | February
Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Preston North End
FA Women’s Cup 3rd round, New River Stadium
Match 36 | February
Crawley Town 0-5 Doncaster Rovers
League One, Broadfield Stadium
Match 37 | February
Doncaster Rovers 3-0 Yeovil Town
League One, Keepmoat Stadium
Match 38 | March
Gillingham 1-1 Doncaster Rovers
League One, Priestfield Stadium
Match 39 | March
Redbridge 2-1 Tilbury
Isthmian League Division One North, Oakside Stadium
Match 40 | March
Dulwich Hamlet 3-3 East Thurrock
Isthmian League Premier Division, Champion Hill
Match 41 | March
Maccabi Kabilio Jaffa 1-2 Hapoel Kfar Shalem
Israel Liga Alef, Hatikva Neighbourhood Stadium
Match 42 | March
Israel 0-3 Wales
UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifier, Sammy Ofer Stadium
Match 43 | April
Doncaster Rovers 0-3 Bradford City
League One, Keepmoat Stadium
Match 44 | April
Cray Valley Paper Mills 1-0 Lordswood
Southern Counties East League, Badgers Sports Ground
Match 45 | April
Leyton Orient 0-1 Doncaster Rovers
League One, Brisbane Road
Match 46 | April
Doncaster Rovers 0-0 Fleetwood Town
League One, Keepmoat Stadium
Match 47 | April
Team Coppinger 7-4 Team Tomlinson
Exhibition Match, Keepmoat Stadium
Match 48 | May
Greenwich Borough 2-1 Tunbridge Wells
Southern Counties East League Cup Final, Park View Road (Welling United)
Match 49 | June
Wales 1-0 Belgium
UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifier, Cardiff City Stadium
by Glen Wilson
For more photographs from this season, follow popular STAND on Instagram, where all Glen’s football photos can be seen.
popular STAND fanzine 
your photographs are exellent
What no Rosso?
Sadly not, based down south so didn’t manage a single Rossington game this season.
Great photos glen. Can I ask what camera and lens do you use and are your photos edited on photoshop or similar. Great use of limited focus, large aperture. Love that phot of cop pinger at Colchester.
Thanks Darran, I don’t have a camera; just use my iPhone4 and Instagram.
Absolutely fantastic article. The fanzine is great, too.
Mind if I ask where you’re based? (Roughly anyway – don’t want to seem like a stalker!) I’m from Folkestone, see – me dad’s brought me up to support the Rovers (clearly a top bloke!) – and I dunno about you but I don’t come across too many Donny fans down this way!
Anyway, keep up the great work. RTID.
Thanks Craig. I’m in Lewisham, but have family in Kent – hence the trip to Whitstable Bay.
Fantastic set of photos. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve put a link to this page on my Bury FC website, http://www.mannyroadend.co.uk, but I’ll remove it if you consider it a liberty…
What a bloody liberty!?!
No, of course I don’t mind; thanks for checking though.
Been meaning to look over this for a while now. Cracking pics!