League Two: Bradford City claim statement victory, Doncaster Rovers suffer third-straight loss as Harrogate Town pick up much-needed point

Bradford City 3-0 Stevenage

Bradford City made it four wins in five with a 3-0 victory over Stevenage to continue their push up the Sky Bet League Two table.

Andy Cook added two more to take his goal tally for Mark Hughes’ side to 11 in all competitions this season.

He needed only six minutes to open the scoring, nodding in from Richie Smallwood’s corner after Taye Ashby-Hammond had tipped over a Scott Banks header.

Stevenage came back strongly and Harry Lewis did well to save from Luther James-Wildin. Carl Piergianni then nodded a long free-kick into Luke Norris but the Stevenage striker headed narrowly over.

Ashby-Hammond denied Cook before Bradford goalkeeper Lewis dived full stretch to keep out Alex Gilbey’s well-struck effort. Cook claimed his second in the 56th minute after good work from Tyreik Wright.

On-loan Aston Villa winger Wright then got on the scoresheet himself six minutes later as his drive took a deflection to fly past Ashby-Hammond. Bradford defender Brad Halliday was sent off after picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Saxon Earley.

Stockport County 0-0 Harrogate Town

Harrogate Town halted a worrying run of four straight defeats with a gutsy 0-0 draw at mid-table rivals Stockport County.

Stockport were denied by the woodwork early on when skipper Antoni Sarcevic nodded against the crossbar following Kyle Wootton’s clipped cross.

Sarcevic then saw a point-blank effort brilliantly palmed away by goalkeeper Pete Jameson. At the other end, Harrogate threatened when Luke Armstrong’s point-blank header was beaten out by Stockport stopper Vit Jaros.

County’s Ollie Crankshaw then hit the bar with a smart chip from 25 yards as the hosts continued to dominate.

After the restart, Stockport sub Ryan Croasdale curled a 20-yard shot a foot wide of the post. An unmarked Will Collar also headed disappointingly off target as he met Sarcevic’s floated free-kick.

Harrogate striker Armstrong saw a shot on the turn blocked with 10 minutes left, but his side had been second best.

Despite that, they still almost grabbed a late winner when Alex Pattison’s shot from a narrow angle was superbly palmed away by Jaros.

Doncaster Rovers 0-1 Swindon Town

Jacob Wakeling netted the only goal of the game as Swindon extended their unbeaten run and consigned Doncaster to a third consecutive defeat.

Wakeling’s 59th-minute strike secured a deserved win for Scott Lindsey’s side, who have not been beaten in League Two since the opening day.

While there were few chances of real note for either side, the majority of those created came for Swindon, who were comfortable in possession throughout.

Rovers on the other hand were largely flat, with their play lacking any real tempo as their strong start to the season continued to fade.

Young defender Bobby Faulkner denied Ronan Darcy with a block in the only clear-cut opportunity of the first period.

Rovers keeper Jonathan Mitchell produced a brilliant reaction save after a Jonny Williams strike deflected on the way through.

Wakeling turned in a Ben Gladwin ball from close range to give Swindon the lead.

And it was the visitors who looked more likely to add to the score with Rovers struggling to create.