Bristol City 1 Doncaster Rovers 0: James thwarts Rovers

Forty-year-old David James turned the clock back with a string of outstanding saves and drew the praise of manager Keith Millen as Doncaster Rovers’ poor run continues.

The former England goalkeeper produced four one-on-one stops to deny Doncaster a result to ease their growing relegation fears and earned glowing praise from manager Millen.

The Robins boss said: “David continues to work so hard on his game and is looking fitter and sharper now than when he first joined us, which is a tribute to his enthusiasm.

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“He made some important saves today and we needed them because our first half performance was so far below the standards we have set in recent weeks.

“The international break came at a bad time for us because we were playing well and you could see its’ effect as we started the game very slowly.

“I really got stuck into the lads at half-time and the second half performance was much better. I had every confidence that a goal would come because we have a lot of dangerous attacking players.”

Nicky Maynard settled the result with a 76th minute volley from a Jordan Spence cross, the striker’s fifth goal in seven starts since returning to action following knee surgery last summer.

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The defeat left Doncaster boss Sean O’Driscoll admitting: “Maynard was the difference between the sides. That sort of finishing is what you get when you pay more than £2million for a striker.

“Bristol have him back after a long spell on the injured list and we are without our own goal poacher in Billy Sharp. That counted for a lot.

“We had a lot of good chances in the game but couldn’t take them and all our remaining games will now be as important as if we were playing Manchester United.

“Bristol have as good a front four as there is in the Championship and I thought we did really well against them before one lapse in concentration cost us a point.”

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Franck Moussa was the main culprit as Doncaster spurned a succession of openings, although James’ brilliance was also a key factor.

He kept out an early shot from Simon Gillett before denying Moussa twice when the striker was clean through.

Doncaster’s 19-year-old goalkeeper Gary Woods lost nothing by comparison and helped keep the score down with two brilliant saves from dangerous winger Albert Adomah.

Some sparkling running from the lively Adomah was a feature of an often sloppy game, but his crossing did not always match his direct approach play.

Doncaster were unable to improve on their nightmare run, which has dragged them down into the relegation picture, but with more confident finishing they would have earned at least a draw.