Rovers met Bradford City with play-off aspirations on the line, although a fairly even and uneventful first half soon came and went.
Rovers started the second half relatively brightly, with Kyle Hurst looking particularly threatening; however, after ten minutes of positive play, Rovers wilted and Bradford seized control of the game.
Jonathan Mitchell produced two noteworthy saves – firstly to keep out a Richie Smallwood drive from the edge of the box then, even more impressively, to deny Andy Cook who had directed a firm header towards the bottom corner.
Bradford took the lead in the 71st minute. Mitchell leapt towards Adam Clayton’s delivery from a corner but failed to make any meaningful contact and could only watch as Cook nodded the ball into the net.
Rovers didn’t remotely look like a side which might equalise, something encapsulated in the 84th minute when Tom Anderson strode out of defence and launched the ball in the general direction of an isolated George Miller – a player who’s goalless since November and certainly not thriving in Danny Schofield’s preferred formation. Miller was understandably unable to do a great deal whilst surrounded by four defenders, and the ball was swiftly returned into Rovers’ half.
The final whistle arrived without much further incident. Having enjoyed the dizzying heights of the Championship and some memorable seasons in League One in the last twenty years, Rovers are seemingly stumbling towards a mid-table finish in the fourth tier of English football – make of that what you will.
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