BREAKING BRAD
Rowett hoping he has found the right chemistry up front after mixing Tom with target man Bodvarsson
GARY ROWETT has taken direct action to get Tom Bradshaw and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson firing once again.
Millwall’s out- of- favour strikers were brought in from the cold to spearhead a first win in 11 games at Bristol City last Tuesday.
Bradshaw made it two goals in two games against Forest, after linking up brilliantly with his Icelandic strike partner.
Bodvarsson produced an inch-perfect pull back at the end of a surging run for his Welsh sidekick to volley in the 47th-minute opener.
Rowett revealed the key has been to play more to Bodvarsson’s aerial strengths and having Bradshaw to feed off his flicks and knock downs. The Lions boss said:
“They have shown a reaction to not playing.
“The key was to play in a way that helps them, with a bit more intensity. It was about getting the ball
QUICK FIRE.. Alex Mighten takes just two minutes to level for Forest
SHAW FIRE.. Tom Bradshaw gets Millwall off the mark with a goal forward a little bit earlier and ideally with a bit of quality.
“Jon winning some of those first balls then gives Bradders the opportunity to come on to the ball and they have done it well. They have started to look more confident, starting to look like they are playing with a smile on their face.
“They are an energetic front pairing and what we have seen so far has certainly helped us.
“What we need now is just to add a little more quality in our passing and our finishing but I have been pleased with the last two performances.”
The Lions were denied back- to- back wins by 18-year-old Alex Mighten’s first League goal just two minutes after Bradshaw’s strike. He latched on to a long pass down the middle from Loic Mbe Soh to clip the ball past advancing keeper Bartosz Bialkowski.
Forest manager Chris Hughton is looking upward after four points in their last two games lifted them to 20th, following an awful run of seven games which saw them face the top six and pick up just a single point.
He said: “Now we are going into a period against teams that are maybe not in the top six.
“The next challenge for my players is to pick up points because it is not very comfortable being in the position we are in.”
Bialkowski 6, Romeo 6, Hutchinson 6, Cooper 6, M Wallace 6, Williams 6 (Thompson 90), Leonard 6, J Wallace 7 (Burey 90) , Bodvarsson 7 (Skalak 84), Bradshaw 7 (Parrott 72, 5), Bennett 6 (Smith 72, 5)
Samba 6, Christie 6, Soh 6, Worrall 7, Ribeiro 6, Yates 6, Sow 6, Ameobi 7, Cafu 6, Mighten 6 (Knockaert 74, 5), Grabban 6 (Taylor 69, 5)