IF Forest Green visited a fun fair they would come home without the obligatory gold fish, according to head coach Mark Cooper.

Rovers were indebted to striker Aaron Collins after the mercurical Welshman rescued a point with a 97th-minute strike to deny a Bradford City side reduced to nine players. 

Cooper bemoaned his side’s profligacy in front of goal and felt his side should have won the game.

He said: “We need to get our shooting boots on pretty quickly and this has been the theme of the first part of the season so far – we had 21 shots and only two on target and both those were goals.

“We would be no good at the fun fair and we wouldn’t win any gold fish. We are high, wide and not very handsome at the moment.

“We should win the game, but we miss a penalty and they scored two goals from us.”

Cooper backed his goalkeeper Luke McGee after his error against his former club gifted the Bantams the lead.

He added: “Luke is a good goalkeeper and I’m sure he will pay us and his team-mates back for that one down the line.”

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Bradford City boss Stuart McCall (pictured) pointed the finger at Forest Green midfielder Ebou Adams after Paudie O’Connor saw red in a feisty four-goal thriller.

McCall said: “It’s the reaction that gets Paudie sent off, he flings himself back. But if Paudie doesn’t go up to him, it doesn’t happen.

“Definitely think the lad’s reaction has got him sent off. Don’t think it was a head butt.

“I asked the boy Adams if he bought it a bit. He came back to me afterwards and said he didn’t want the lad to get fined a couple of weeks’ wages for indiscipline.

“Paudie was distraught but he’s given the referee a decision to make.”

McCall felt satisfied despite Rovers’ late equaliser.

“I’ve got mixed emotions, could have been better, could have been worse, but we’ll take a point. Overall, probably a fair result. Ups and downs, rollercoaster of a game.”

In a pilot game for the safe return of supporters, veteran striker Lee Novak touched home just three minutes after the restart when former Bradford City loanee MGhee spilled Elliott Watt’s 25-yard stinger.

Rovers’ captain Carl Winchester levelled things up when his deflected free-kick found the bottom of Richard O’Donnell’s net on 61 minutes. A minute late Winchester fluffed his lines from the penalty spot after Adams was felled in the box with Anthony O’Connor red-carded for the Bantams.

Bradford regained the lead on 67 minutes - Watt fizzing in a sumptuous free-kick. City were reduced to nine men with 20 minutes to go -defender Paudie O’Connor picking up a red for pushing his head towards Adams who fell over the pitch side barriers during the clash. Mark Cooper’s side pinned Bradford back with Nicky Cadden and sub Scott Wagstaff going close and Collins salvaged a point- touching home a Wagstaff cross in the final minute of added time.