After making his long-awaited return to the side, following an absence from the field of play totalling eight games, midfield powerhouse Bradley Johnson dazzled the travelling Rovers fans as he notched his second Rovers goal and a first assist for the club in the Blues’ dominant 2-0 win away at playoff-chasing Bristol City.
“Today was a brilliant afternoon that capped off a fine week for the lads. I thought we played well on Wednesday night away at Swansea City, having come into the week knowing how big these two games were for us, but to then come here and play the way we played today, along with the result makes it a fantastic week. The idea for the short set-piece, which we worked on yesterday (Friday) in training, came from the gaffer and thankfully it paid off for us. The analysts work hard on trying to exploit the weaknesses of the opposition, and then the onus falls on us to execute it, down on the pitch and we’re thankful that it paid off for us today.
“It didn’t work quite as well in training as it did today! I managed to get the shot away, yesterday, but it got blocked, but thankfully I didn’t repeat that today and we managed to go ahead so early on and eventually earn the three points. I always believe in myself and my abilities to strike a ball, so whenever I get a free shot on the edge of the box, I believe I can cause the opposition some trouble, but the goal was one of those that you know, as soon as you make contact with it, that it’s going in, so I’m just thankful it helped the team pick up three valuable points.
“Today’s clean sheet is massive. To come here, away at a great team in Bristol City, who are fighting for a playoff place and have beaten teams at Ashton Gate by many goals, is a great achievement. They did, however make us work for it and it showed the character of the team, the back four and Christian (Walton) in goal. It was a very mature second-half performance and the gaffer noted in the dressing room that, had we been in that position last season, we might have let our advantage slip. Everyone in the second-half, from the front to the back defended well and I thought we played them off the park at times, we weren’t afraid to play in dangerous areas and you have to do that in this league in order to be successful.
“All we can do is work hard and do our individual jobs in order to achieve the collective goal. As a midfielder, I’m more than happy to score and assist, but I love clean sheets as much as scoring. The defence showed their worth today as did the great forwards that we have in this side. Everyone has a part to play in this team as Arma (Adam Armstrong) and Joe (Rothwell) showed. The attacking talent doesn’t stop there with the likes of Dacky (Bradley Dack) who was suspended, Danny Graham and Stewy (Stewart Downing) who didn’t even get off the bench, which shows the strength we have and thankfully we’re proving that on the pitch.
“Today’s result was a ‘statement performance.’ We believe that we can go anywhere in this league and win and that was proven by today. It’s just a case of remaining grounded and taking each game as they come, whilst also maintaining the consistency that will allow you to grind out victories when you’re on top and draws when you’re perhaps not at your best. This week was important, especially after getting the three wins last week, as we had to face difficult back-to-back away games against sides who will be hoping to be up there come the end of the season. To come away from this week with four points makes it a good week for us, but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves.
“‘If you don’t win, don’t lose’, is how you have to look at games in this league and I think we’ve got enough ‘steel’ about us now that will allow us to come away from games we’re not at our best at, with at least a point, as we proved on Wednesday night at Swansea. The lads who played in that game dug deep and got the point, but it’s a long season that has its ups and downs, we just need to take it game-by-game, enjoy it and hopefully we’ll have a good season come its conclusion. I’ve been in the game long enough to know that football is a team game and when you’re not in the team, it’s down to you as an individual to keep yourself ticking over and mentally ready for your call-up. I haven’t played for a few games, but you know that the gaffer is always going to change the team to freshen things up during busy periods. However, the two lads that came in, Corry (Evans) and Trav (Lewis Travis) have been outstanding the last couple of games, and I can’t complain that they’re getting in ahead of me when the team is doing well and they’re putting in the performances they have been showing of late. All I can do is keep working hard, keep my head up and take my chance when it comes. I feel like I’ve done that today, but whoever the gaffer picks next week will be ready and fired-up for the game.”
