Bristol City 1 Doncaster Rovers 0: Veteran James denies Doncaster valuable point in survival scrap

Forty-year-old David James turned the clock back with a string of outstanding saves as Bristol City edged out Doncaster and made it six wins from their last seven Championship games.
By The Newsroom
Published 4th Apr 2011, 09:56 BST

The former England goalkeeper produced four one-on-one stops to deny Rovers a result to ease their growing relegation fears.

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 £2m 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.”

Franck Moussa was the main culprit as Doncaster spurned a succession of openings, although James’s 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.

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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.

Rovers, crippled by a long injury list, have endured a terrible run of form which has seen them drop down to 20th in the division.

Bristol City: James, Spence, Stewart, Nyatanga, McAllister, Adomah (Woolford 90), Johnson (Clarkson 70), Elliott, Campbell-Ryce, Pitman (Skuse 81), Maynard. Unused substitutes: Gerken, Keogh, Edwards, Stead.

Doncaster: Gary Woods, Dumbuya, Martis, Friend, Mills, Oster, Stock (Wilson 53), Gillett, Coppinger, Moussa (Euell 84), Hayter (Mason 84). Unused substitutes: Sullivan, Hird, Shiels, Kilgallon.

Referee: Phil Crossley (Kent).

Man of the match: David James.

Related topics:Bristol CityDoncasterSean O'Driscoll