Monday 19th March 2018
SkyBet EFL League 1
at the Keepmoat Stadium
Doncaster Rovers (0) 2
John Marquis 75, 90+2
Bradford City (0) 0
Admission £21. Programme £3.
Attendance: 7,369 (inc. 744 away)
The Bantams clocked up their eleventh game of a win-less run tonight, while Rovers kicked off just four points above the relegation places... and will have been mightily relieved to have got a valuable win on board, especially with three of teams below them playing tomorrow night.
Simon Grayson, who was instilled last month as a replacement for outgoing manager Stuart McCall at Valley Parade, has had a lot of success (particularly in the play offs) at this level, where he has led four teams to promotion, namely: with Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Preston and Blackpool.
But City still haven't won a game under Grayson's guidance (yet), having lost three and drawn one of his opening four matches, while failing to score in their last three, including this one.
And when the final whistle sounded, they finished the night some five places and seven points away from the play offs (with a game in hand), or, in layman's terms, four points and three places above so called: 'struggling Donny'.
I suspect that 2018 will most definitely not be remembered as a vintage year for the West Yorkshire side.
The first half didn't take much summing up, Bradford probably had the better of it, but only marginally; with Timothee Dieng seeing his header cleared off the line, while Alex Gilliead put a half decent effort wide and Nicky Law failed to connect at full stretch with the ball as it skidded across the face of Marko Marosi's goal, because he's only got little legs.
For Doncaster's part, Jon Marquis had a shot that flew off target and unless I blinked and missed something, they didn't really cause Colin Doyle in the visitors any problems whatsoever.
HT: Rovers 0 v Bantams 0
The home side were playing the ball to death, backwards and forwards across the periphery of Bradford's defensive third, but were bereft of any actual penetration... all balls and no willy you might say.
The singing sections of both clubs support were doing their level best to create an atmosphere, in a vainglorious attempt to inspire the players to up the tempo, or maybe they had simply given up on the game and had resorted to making their own entertainment.
"If you're watching on the telly, turn it off!" echoed around the (apparently) half empty ground from the corner where the Bradford fans were watching the stalemate from. I heard told that the guy who fabricates the crowds at the Emirates Stadium and counts people who had tickets but who don't actually attend games, helps out at the Keepmoat on his days off.
But hey! Who am I to dispute the accuracy of the officially announced attendance?
Alas for those away fans who'd travelled the forty miles or so to support their team, it wasn't just the television audience who switched off, as their defenders stood around indulging in a spot of 'Simon says... stand still' as the completely unmarked Marquis rose to meet Niall Mason's right wing delivery and powered a header into the back of Doyle's net.
Alfie Beestin had a chance to put the game to bed, but missed the target.
Bradford tried to get back into the game but drew a blank against their hosts who had effectively closed ranks to see the game out.
Deep into stoppage time, Marquis made sure of the three points as he drilled an angled shot under Doyle, after James Coppinger and Beestin had moved the ball forward quickly across the pitch from left to right.
FT: Doncaster Rovers 2 v Bradford City 0
All told Bradford had been lightweight on the night. And though Darren Ferguson's side weren't much better; in John Marquis they had that added extra ingredient to force the issue late in the game, with two good finishes.
