Eleventh tier side Doncaster City have signed three former international stars to aid in their promotion push - and all three played their part in a debut win.
The club play in the Central Midlands League Premier North, and had a record of 15 wins in their 17 matches before hosting league leaders Dearne & District at home on Saturday.
They were 10 points behind their rivals heading into the contest, who were unbeaten in their 19 matches.
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As a result, Doncaster City brought in some reinforcements for the clash - in a big way.
Those reinforcements began coming in on Friday, with former Blackburn, Celtic and Scotland defender Charlie Mulgrew joining 'for a short period to gain valuable match fitness'.
Mulgrew was released by Dundee United last summer, having been playing in the Scottish Championship, and the 37-year-old retired from professional football in September.
Next up was the former EFL goal machine Ross McCormack, who was one of the best strikers outside of the Premier League for a number of years across spells with Cardiff, Leeds and Fulham.
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The former Scotland international had recently signed for eighth-tier side Liversedge as a player and director of football, but the club announced the departure of the 37-year-old earlier this month, stating that it had 'not worked out'.
Doncaster City completed their new international trio on Saturday morning, with former Norwich, Blackpool and Republic of Ireland playmaker Wes Hoolahan signing on.
The 41-year-old had been playing in League One as recently as 2022, but had spent 18 months out of the game following his release by Cambridge United.
They were joined in the matchday squad by former Livingston midfielder Scott McLaughlin, with all four players marking their debuts with a maiden start.
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Disaster struck when they went 1-0 on 64 minutes, but Doncaster City fired back with goals from Muhamet Gashi, Nick Howcroft and Shay Evans-Booth to win 3-1.
With two games in hand on Saturday's opponents, the club are now just seven points off the top of the table - meaning Hoolahan, Mulgrew and McCormack could all play a role in an exciting end to the season.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
