Bradford 1 Bristol Rovers 1: Frustration for City after home stalemate

Stuart McCall was left frustrated as Bradford City were held to their fourth draw in a row on a day when Tyne and Wear referee Andy Haines had to take the players off the pitch for thee minutes as a safety precaution because of a low flying drone.
By The Newsroom
Published 19th Sep 2016, 05:05 BST
Updated 4th Oct 2016, 14:06 BST

Bradford would have gone to the top of League One had they held on to their 69th-minute lead, but the Bantams manager took encouragement from his side’s second-half performance as defeats for Northampton and Bolton left City the only unbeaten team in League One.

Left-back James Meredith had given them the lead with a close-range header from Mark Marshall’s cross to crown an intense spell of home pressure.

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However, Rovers’ substitute Charlie Colkett, a 20-year-old midfield player on loan from Chelsea, levelled the scores 13 minutes later, slamming home a loose ball after Bradford captain Romain Vincelot had slipped in the box.

Both sides came close to snatching a winner, Colin Doyle turning over substitute Charles Lines’s header and Kelle Roos scrambling away a close-range header from City substitute Haris Vuckic in stoppage time.

McCall said: “There is naturally some frustration around – a home draw is never what we would be looking for – but there were still plenty of positives to take out of this game, especially in the second half. The tempo of our play, the atmosphere generated by the crowd – it was there for 30-35 minutes and I was really pleased with the way we played after the break.”

Bradford City: Doyle, Darby, Vincelot, Knight-Percival, Meredith, Marshall (Morais 84), Dieng, Cullen, Law (McNulty 90), Hanson, B Clarke (Vuckic 83). Unused substitutes: Sattelmaier (gk), Hiwula, Kilgallon, McMahon.

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Bristol Rovers: Roos, Leadbitter, Lockyer, Hartley, Brown, Bodin (Colkett 78), Boateng (Lines 78), Sinclair, Moore (James 69), Harrison, Taylor. Unused substitutes: Mildenhall (gk), J Clarke, Easter, Gaffney.

Referee: A Haines (Tyne & Wear).

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