Joe Gallen hails all-round ability of matchwinner Gareth Evans

Posted Sunday, November 04, 2018 by PA

Portsmouth assistant manager Joe Gallen paid tribute to the all-round abilities of Gareth Evans after he kept Portsmouth top of League One after a 1-0 win at Bradford.

To compound Bradford’s misery they had left back Adam Chicksen sent off in the 83rd minute for a second bookable offence. It was Chicksen’s first game back in the side after ten weeks out of action through injury.

Midfielder Evans hit the 11th-minute winner when he fired the ball into the roof of the net from 10 yards for the winning goal after Ronan Curtis’ left-wing cross found him unmarked in the box.

Gallen said: “Gareth times his runs very well. He has got good centre forward’s instinct. He took the pace off the cross and his sidefoot is what centre forwards do. It was a classic centre forward’s finish.

“We use him as an attacking midfield player, which requires some defending, closing down, passing and the ability to get up and down the pitch, but he can also score goals. He is our captain and a fantastic bloke as well.”

Gallen added: “We had some chances in the second half to kill off Bradford but it didn’t happen for us and we would have liked to have scored some more goals, but to come away from home and win 1-0 is a great feeling.”

Portsmouth are unbeaten in nine away matches and Gallen said: “We are trying to build the season around being organised, hard to beat and getting the basics right. So far we have managed to be that type of team and once you get some good results it breeds confidence that flows through the team. Hopefully that can continue.”

Bradford manager David Hopkin was left to rue two great chances his side wasted in the second half.

A free header in front of goal for skipper and defender Anthony O’Connor which Craig McGillivray saved in the 60th minute and a shot that midfield player Hope Akpan fired over the bar in the first minute of stoppage time with only the keeper to beat.

Despite another defeat, Hopkin took encouragement from Bradford’s performance.

He said: “The effort and commitment was there and we showed great desire.

“We conceded a soft goal, which was disappointing, but after that we were the better team for most of the game. The application was great and there were a lot of positives to take out of the game.

“It was a fantastic reaction to our 4-0 defeat at Gillingham last week. That is the commitment I have asked for and I want to see it every week.

“This was a hard defeat to take. They had once chance and scored, but we should have done better with our chances.”