Words and image by Adam Raj

Well what a difference a week makes. From despair in injury time last week, to utter euphoria in time added on this week. Romoney Critchlow’s first goal for the Bantams all but secures a play off spot and keeps alive City’s faint, but entirely possible, hopes of automatic promotion.

To rubber-stamp a top seven finish, City need just one point from their final two games, starting on Wednesday – away at Crewe and then on Bank Holiday Monday, at home to Champions Leyton Orient.

If, and it’s a big if, City are to achieve the dizzy heights of automatic promotion, there are going to need to be some favours from elsewhere. Tranmere and Hartlepool will need to take points off Northampton and Stockport respectively – and that is providing City win their two remaining games of course.

But this victory sets the scene nicely now. Beat Crewe, and things start to get really, really interesting. Although as Mark Hughes keeps reminding the Bantams faithful, it’s one game at a time.

Pre match, all the talk was about the hosts and rightly so. A win for Northampton would’ve seen them promoted to League One, which unsurprisingly drew a sell out crowd at Sixfields. Northampton were preparing for a party – the Cobblers had the flags waving and the paper clappers handed out to every supporter in an attempt to drum up the atmosphere and get their side over the line. Even the sun was out and temperatures reaching t-shirt and shorts weather.

But City weren’t here to make up the numbers. As Hughes stated post-match “we weren’t going to be a part of that.” And for the most part, they didn’t.

The Bantams managed the flow of the game fairly well and weren’t overwhelmed by the occasion. They relied on moments of quality at either end of the pitch from the best striker and best goalkeeper in the league (yes, I’m biased) – but the best players turn up when it matters.

Andy Cook, shunned for League Two Player of the Year in midweek in favour of Northampton’s Sam Hoskins, provided a goal and an assist in City’s biggest game of the season to date. He turned up when his side needed him.

If we’re being really critical of our number nine, he should have had a brace this afternoon. City’s bright start at Sixfields saw Liam Ridehalgh’s deep cross reach Cook at he back post who scuffed his shot into the side netting. A big chance, that the man with 30 goals to his name would ordinarily take.

But Cook seems to play best when he’s angry. Having missed out on personal silverware to the Cobblers’ skipper, there was no way he wasn’t going to score today. And he didn’t have to wait too long for it to happen. Half an hour in and Scott Banks’ terrific corner was nodded into the bottom corner by Cook who wheeled off shushing the home crowd. A celebration endorsed by everyone of claret and amber persuasion, I’m sure.

City were the better side in the first half. There wasn’t a lot in it, but they frustrated their hosts and limited them to no clear cut chances in the first period. It was a textbook performance in the circumstances.

The question was, how long would City be able to hold out? Northampton were bound to come out fighting, given what was on the line, and that’s exactly what they did. They put their visitors under sustained pressure for much of the second period but City’s back four stood up well, with Brad Halliday particularly excellent. Harry Lewis made one excellent save to deny Kieron Bowie and a few others that I think can be filed under “ones for the camera.”

City struggled to mount much of an attacking threat themselves, with Scott Banks being kept fairly quiet and Thierry Nevers anonymous. The left wing debate is certainly an interesting one given Harry Chapman’s season-ending injury. It is of no doubt that Chapman is a massive loss with his ability to drive City up the pitch, even if his end product is questionable. But who takes his place is still not a question that Hughes has found the answer to.

Nevers has put in a couple of very poor displays and generally looks a yard behind the pace of the game. Dara Costelloe came on this afternoon and was…well…Dara Costelloe. A lot of running, but a liability with the ball at his feet. It’s another dilemma for Hughes to solve, especially if City are to find themselves in the play offs.

The hosts, who displayed excellent and consistent crossing ability throughout did manage to exploit arguably City’s biggest weakness. Ryan Haynes’ free kick was absolutely perfect for the unmarked Sam Sherring at the back post who headed back across goal for his centre half partner Max Dyche to nod home. Given City’s zonal marking system, the back post zone from free kicks and corners continues to look vulnerable. Last week it was a goal conceded from a corner at the back post and this week it was a free kick in the same zone.

Every Northampton corner and free kick targeted the same area and the home side often made first contact with the initial delivery, with City mopping up the second balls after. But it is a weakness in the Bantams’ defending that more than one of their opponents have highlighted and exploited – and so it needs to be fixed.

Funnily enough though, that’s exactly how City scored their winner. 94 minutes on the clock and Richie Smallwood’s delivery to the back post found Cook whose header back across goal found an unmarked Critchlow to force home the easiest goal he’ll ever score. Cue pandemonium in the away end and a swift exit for the home support.

Northampton may still go up and they’ll definitely finish in the play offs at least. But in a division where every side treats playing City as their cup final, it’s thoroughly satisfying to be the party poopers for a change.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2022/23, BCAFC, League Two, Northampton Town