Examiner ratings:

ALEX SMITHIES

Made excellent saves from Baldock and McManus to preserve a welcome fourth clean sheet of the season. 8

CALLUM WOODS

Back on the right, he was given a test by Town old boy Jon Stead. Worked hard and came close to a goal. 5

PAUL DIXON

Returned for a first start in five games and stuck doggedly to his task defensively while also pushing forward. 6

OLIVER NORWOOD

His passing was a little in and out, but overall, a decent performance alongside Keith Southern in midfield. 6

PETER CLARKE

A stirring effort by the skipper, who used his experience, head and feet to limit chances for the visitors. 8

JOEL LYNCH

A steadying influence alongside Clarke in central defence, his positional play was good. 7

ADAM HAMMILL

At times bamboozled Bristol with his deft footwork but struggled to match that quality with the final ball. 6

KEITH SOUTHERN

The normally no-nonsense midfielder looked a little off the pace for too much of this contest. 5

LEE NOVAK

Did a huge amount of running and chasing as the lone central striker, but could have made more of his chances. 7

ADAM CLAYTON

Playing as an advanced midfielder, he had a hand in the bulk of Town’s main moves and might have scored. 8

SEAN SCANNELL

Made a first start in five and scored his first goal for Town, rewarding a determined display by an exciting player. 7

4-2-1-3

Substitutes:

Danny Ward (for Hammill, 73mins) 6,

Anton Robinson (for Norwood, 80mins) 6;

Anthony Gerrard (for Scannell, 88mins) 5.

Not used: Murray Wallace,Scott Arfield, Alan Lee, Ian Bennett.

Your ratings:

ALEX SMITHIES 7.6

CALLUM WOODS 5.0

PAUL DIXON 5.9

PETER CLARKE 7.1

JOEL LYNCH 6.8

OLIVER NORWOOD 5.5

ADAM CLAYTON 7.4

KEITH SOUTHERN 6.1

ADAM HAMMILL 5.7

SEAN SCANNELL 7.1

LEE NOVAK 6.3

DANNY WARD 5.7

ANTON ROBINSON 5.2

ANTHONY GERRARD 5.3

Good win, need to keep the ball more – still defending too deep. Brian, Holmfirth

Low on confidence, disrupted by suspension and injury, so a welcome opportunity to gain three points in difficult circumstances. Careless with the ball, jeopardising Novak's selfless running, meant chances would be few and far between. But dogged determination, yet again, won the day. Malcolm, Scholes

Lacking a bit of confidence coming off the back of two defeats – points more important than performance. Vaughan is a must against Blackburn. Bradley Blues

Not a good performance but winning when playing below par is a good sign. Missed Hunt – Woods very shaky surprisingly in his proper position. Scannell worth a starting place instead of Hammill. Roger, Menston

Thank goodness we were playing such a poor team, which enabled us to win despite having no firepower and some awful individual performances. Clayton was easily man of the match. Paul, Shipley

Excellent goal lit up an otherwise League One-level game. Clarke and Clayton the stand-out players. RB, Sheffield

Due to injuries up front we had to play a weakened team but still came through to take the three points. Poor first half but managed to up it a bit in the second. Big improvement needed for Tuesday night. Tony, Golcar

A tale of two halves. First half – dire – with the exception of a great decisive move for the goal. Second half – much improved but with a lack of clinical finishing and Smithies to thank for keeping us in front. George, Batley

Worryingly, we won't get three points very often playing like this; this league is generally too good to permit that. Martin, Outlane