Bristol Rovers 2-1 Bradford City: Player ratings & man of the match as Gas come from behind to win

Bristol Rovers got back to winning ways as they came from behind to defeat Bradford
Connor Taylor scored just his second goal in professional football to win the match. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images)Connor Taylor scored just his second goal in professional football to win the match. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images)
Connor Taylor scored just his second goal in professional football to win the match. (Photo by Alex Burstow/Getty Images)

Bristol Rovers issued the perfect response to last week’s defeat as they came back from a goal down to claim a 2-1 victory over Bradford City.

Dion Pereira scored inside the first 20 seconds of the first half for the Bantams but a thunderbolt from Sam Finley and a fortuitous effort from Connor Taylor gave the Gas another win at home, extending their unbeaten home run to eight games.

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As a result of their victory, their win has moved them up a place to fifth with four teams from third to sixth all tied on 66 points in a closely contested League Two table.

Tale of the match

In the early knocking of the match, Rovers went near to scoring. A right-sided free-kick from Paul Coutts picked out Luca Hoole, but the Welsh defender’s header went just wide of the target.

An Elliot Anderson moment of brilliance then almost resulted in a goal. Dancing past two players, the loanee curled his shot just past the post.

Bradford began to put more bodies back to try and stop the Rovers threat but there were more opportunities with Finley having a few attempts from outside of the box.

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The away sides focal point was coming through their striker Andy Cook with a header over the bar from Matty Foulds being their first major chance.

Another chance would go begging for the hosts as a Trevor Clarke cross skimmed Clollins and couldn’t reach Harry Anderson.

A slight penalty appeal would then come as Paudie O’Connor roughed up Finley after giving the ball away but the referee deemed it a fair enough tackle.

Elliot Anderson had another chance before the half came to a close as from the left-hand side he cut in and curled a shot just over the bar in a half with no shots on target from the 15 attempted.

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Immediately after the whistle had blown to restart the game, Bradford went ahead. Dion Pereira found himself in space after a defensive lapse and stroked home his shot from six-yards.

In search of a reply, Harry Anderson slid a shot at Alex Bass for their first attempt on goal but the goalkeeper did enough to impose himself on the shot.

Rovers did get level proceedings and it came from the top draw. A ball was rolled out to Finley who drove home from 25-yards with Bass not standing a chance.

They then should have gone ahead with Elliot Anderson finding Sam Nicholson for a one-on-one but the Scotsman didn’t take the shot first time and could only tuck it into the goalkeeper.

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For all of Bradford’s cheap fouls, they were made to rue one on the far side as Rovers took the lead. A free-kick was swept in and Connor Taylor got the faintest of touches to deflect it off the Bradford player and go in.

Leon Clarke was introduced for Sam Nicholson and the forward almost wrapped the game up but as he tried to place it under Bass’ legs, the keeper did enough to stop it going over the line. Clarke’s missed opportunity did not matter in the end as they saw out six minutes of added time to claim another home win.

Elliot Anderson put in another solid performance for Bristol Rovers. (Image: Dan Mullan/Getty Images) Elliot Anderson put in another solid performance for Bristol Rovers. (Image: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
Elliot Anderson put in another solid performance for Bristol Rovers. (Image: Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Heroes

Elliot Anderson: Showed glimpses of his obvious talent again by taking on two players at a time on multiple occasions. There was a moment though where rather than opting to shoot he could have passed after getting himself into a good position in the box. An assist for Finley’s bullet of a strike.

The Gas fans: A sold out crowd at the Memorial Stadium made for a good atmosphere, despite falling behind and made their best efforts to spur them on to victory.

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Sam Finley: Without a doubt one of the best midfielders in the division and one who can impact games. His ability to spray a pass was on show but he’ll be remembered for his goal which is easily a Goal of the Month contender.

Villains

Paudie O’Connor: Cheaply conceded possession in the first half when the ball was played to him. Grabbed Sam Finley and was physical with him. Could have easily been a penalty for Rovers. Did it again in the second-half when Anderson managed to get a shot away.

Alex Gilliead: Not the most popular player in the first half. Made a few sly fouls as well as kicking the ball away when Rovers tried to take free-kicks inside their own half.

Neil Hair: There were some strange refereeing decisions. There weren’t many major shouts but there were times where the lack of a card like Paudie O’Connor’s consistent fouling went amiss.

Player ratings

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Bristol Rovers (4-2-3-1): James Belshaw 6, Luca Hoole 7, James Connolly 6, Connor Taylor 7, Trevor Clarke 6, (Luke Thomas, 6;68); Sam Finley 8, Paul Coutts 7, Sam Nicholson 6 (Leon Clarke, 6;81), Elliot Anderson 7, Harry Anderson 6; Aaron Collins 6.

Bradford City (4-2-3-1): Alex Bass 5, Luke Hendrie 6, Yann Songo’o 6, Paudie O’Connor 6, Matty Foulds 6, Elliot Watt 6, Gareth Evans 7 (Callum Cooke, 69), Alex Gilliead 6 (Caolan Lavery 79), Jamie Walker 6 (Charles Vernam, 5;46), Dion Pereira 7, Andy Cook 6.

Man of the Match

Sam Finley: Put in a good performance in the centre of the pitch and was everywhere once again. Shielded the defence but also got himself in attacking areas.

What’s next?

Bristol Rovers are away at promotion rivals Tranmere Rovers next weekend. Bradford are on the road for a second consecutive game as they play at Sixfields against Northampton Town.

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