The rivalry between Bradford City and Doncaster Rovers, two prominent clubs in League Two’s limited landscape, intensified significantly during the previous campaign.

Last year’s 2-1 loss, which included Aden Baldwin’s remarkable dismissal for dissent, Tyreik Wright’s failed penalty attempt, altercations among supporters, and Billy Sharp finding the net as he typically does, appeared to end the club’s aspirations of moving up.

However, they accomplished promotion, albeit barely, ascending alongside Donny and Port Vale through automatic qualification.

This animosity has carried over into the current term, with Jordan Gibson irritating his former employers by netting his usual goal(s) against them, Graham Alexander expressing anger over a collapse in the EFL Trophy, Grant McCann shamelessly revealing details about City’s confidential January activities, and AJ performing a chicken celebration following Wright’s decisive strike at Valley Parade.

City may ultimately have the final word, requiring only a draw from their concluding fixture at Exeter to secure a play-off berth and a chance at Championship promotion, while last season’s League Two champions Doncaster only confirmed their survival in the past fortnight.

This rivalry actually dates back to 1902-03, when Rovers placed in the lower reaches of Division Two and were expelled from the Football League, replaced by an entirely new club called Bradford City.

Doncaster returned after just one season, with the Bantams winning both their Division Two encounters in 1904-05.

Rovers finished bottom and were dismissed again, not rejoining the Football League for another twenty years.

The two sides met frequently over the next approximately four decades, though few matches proved as significant as the double header concluding the 1967-68 season.

Much of the local press’s preview to the final day encounter with Donny in 1968 centered on whether Bruce Stowell would feature after suffering a broken nose during the victory over Luton.

Two of City’s final three league matches that term were against mid-table Doncaster, with a rearranged midweek encounter finishing level at 2-2 on April 23.

That outcome in South Yorkshire undermined the Bantams’ promotion prospects, though an unexpected 3-1 triumph against champions Luton four days later restored their position firmly in the race.

Before a packed house at Valley Parade on the final day, everything went awry for City, as they could manage only a 1-1 stalemate against the visiting Rovers.

Elsewhere, Crewe defeated Luton 2-1 to overtake the Bantams for the final promotion place by one point.