SWEETNESS AND FLIGHT

BRADFORD keeper Colin Doyle helped Bradford secure their first win since New Year’s Day after flying back from Turkey in the early hours of the morning.

He took off from Antalya following Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 defeat at 1.30am Saturday morning local time. The plane stopped in Zagreb to refuel, then landed at Dublin at 5am.

Off went Doyle (right) to a local hotel for breakfast before it was back to the airport for an 8am flight to Leeds/Bradford Airport.

Next came a 90-minute kip at home, a rub-down from the Bradford physio, then his second 90 minutes in 24 hours as Dominic Poleon’s goal gave new boss Simon Grayson a first win.

Doyle, who made his first international appearance in 10 years on Friday, said: “If we keep clean sheets between now and the end of the season, I’ll have to do a few more trips to Turkey.”

Gillingham boss Steve Lovell, whose side travelled only from Kent, said: “The performance deserved more than we got.”