Recap: Bradford City 2 Doncaster Rovers 0: Patched-up Rovers comfortably beaten

Abo Eisa takes a tumble in the box after a collision with Tunji Akinola and referee Tom Bramall points to the spot.

Rovers have dominated the ball over the first few minutes of the game. They’ve worked their way slowly down the left, finding their way through the organised Bradford defence.

A corner flashed across the face of the Bradford goal without a Rovers body able to get a touch on the ball.

Charlie Colkett gets the game underway for Rovers

There will be a few trailists at this stage who I won’t be naming.

All the ones that I’ve previously named - plus Darnell Johnson who will play in the second half - I’m able to name.

As written in the preview piece, the others were invite to take part in this game on the understanding they were helping to make up the numbers for the game. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement as the players are able to get match minutes and also state their case to any watching scouts. Plus, they could also impress sufficiently to give Richie Wellens something to think about.

It may be a case that we can give you the names of these players later on, but just not at this stage.

It’s fair to say the ones featuring in the second half are all youngsters without a great deal of experience outside of academy football.

Here is your official Rovers line-up for the first half.

So, of the contracted senior players, it is Louis Jones, Tom Anderson, Tommy Rowe, Ed Williams and Ben Close who have made the trip to Valley Parade.

Other players we are familiar with include some of last weekend’s trialists - Owen Bailey, Tunji Akinola, Charlie Colkett, Aramide Oteh and Aidan Barlow.

Bailey will play right back, Akinola will line up at centre half alongside Akinola, Colkett will play right midfield with Barlow the left forward and Oteh the central striker.

The sitting midfielder is one of the new crop of trialists - and we may well be able to name him later.

The second half will be all change again.

There certainly seems to be a feeling that Rovers just need to get through today’s game after the events of this week.

One positive Covid case has caused plenty of disruption for pre-season planning, with numerous other senior players forced into isolation and out of this game.

Richie Wellens will take a vastly depleted squad to Valley Parade, bolstering his numbers with a team’s worth of trialists to make the game playable, having cancelled the midweek friendly at Spennymoor Town.

Here is what can be expected from today’s game