By Jason McKeown

Don’t panic. Of course don’t panic. Why would you panic? Chill. It’s pre-season. No points were lost. Nothing was at stake. Instead relax. Smile. Have a drink. And don’t think too much about this limp defeat.

Don’t panic about how easily Bradford City were beaten in their first pre-season run out. The big hole in the Bantams defence that allowed Chorley’s Tom Carr to open the scoring in under a minute. The horrendous goalkeeping that resulted in Carr making it 2-0 just before the half hour mark. The fact Chorley are a National League North outfit, made up of semi-pros, and Bradford City are supposed to be a club habouring realistic hopes of promotion to League One.

Don’t panic. But worry if you want to. In pre-season, nothing can be proven or disproven. Confirmation bias flourishes. If you’re feeling upbeat about Bradford City’s prospects for this season, you can shrug this off as a meaningless friendly and maintain your bubble of positivity. If you’re worried that Stefan Rupp pledges to invest more haven’t yet resulted in a tangibly better squad, this tepid performance represents a flashing red warning light on the dashboard.

Choose your own truth. I’m not judging. No one knows really how significant a result this is. And so no one is wrong or right to feel how they do right now.

What we can all agree on is that losing football matches is not a good habit to get into, and so this was not an afternoon to offer up great encouragement. City were hampered by the unavailability of Tyreik Wright, Brad Halliday, Calum Johnson, Calum Kavangh, Aden Baldwin, Colin Doyle and Kevin McDonald. With Graham Alexander wanting to restrict every player to 45 minutes action, City youngsters and a trialist goalkeeper were used to make up the numbers. Some caught the eye, others found it tough going. It’s harsh, but the old maxim that you’re only as strong as your weakest player rang true.

In the first half especially, City looked more like a group of thrown-together individuals than a cohesive football team. Mr A. Trialist – rumoured to be Spennymoor Town’s highly rated former Middlesbrough trainee Brad James, but who knows – struggled in the main. There was not much he could do about Chorley’s first goal, but some unconvincing attempts to catch crosses gave the home side reason to smell blood, and they quickly resorted to launching high balls into the box that caused more trialist keeper squirms and eventually a second Chorley goal.

Mr Trialist did make one very good save and was ultimately not helped by a shaky defence in front of him, with youngster Max Murray enduring a tough first half. At times it felt like City’s 3-5-2 line-up was operating as a 4-4-2. Wing backs Alex Gilliead and Adam Wilson were stationed too far up the pitch – basically operating as wingers with little interest tracking back. This resulted in wide centre halves Murray and Ciaran Kelly splitting out too far to cover the gaps. This left middle centre back Neill Byrne exposed, prompting Richie Smallwood to drop back to support on some occasions. Byrne equipped himself well, but the vast spaces left by City were regularly exploited by an enthusiastic Chorley side.

Where Chorley attacked with vigour, City laboured in the final third. Vadaine Oliver is still here, still trying to carve out a greater Bradford City role than man on the sidelines, but his struggles continued. Jake Young lined up alongside Oliver and was better yet was largely starved of the ball. Antoni Sarcevic showed some nice touches, but he and Bobby Pointon were forced to operate deeper than they would normally. It just wasn’t flowing from front to back.

All change at the break did lead to improvement. The second half Bradford City side largely took control of the game. Attacking with greater frequency, if lacking the sense of urgency and edge that would surely have come to the surface if there were genuine stakes in this game’s outcome.

For what it’s worth, Tyler Smith forced two good saves from Matt Urwin – the former Bantam number three, who was on the bench for that famous afternoon at Stamford Bridge. Jamie Walker seemed to be trying to replicate Cristiano Ronaldo vs Slovenia in how many free kick shots at goal he attempted. The Scot was just as unsuccessful as Ronaldo in finding the back of the net, but at least he didn’t cry.

Indeed, the only real emotions expressed by the players was a big beaming smile of a very lean-looking Andy Cook, when he blasted an effort well over the bar and over the tiny stand behind the goal. And there was some anger too from Alex Pattison, after he was fouled inside the box only for the referee to award City a free kick instead of a penalty. The players were trying, but gave off a body language of not being unduly concerned about their ongoing losing position. Fitness was what really mattered.

It was undoubtedly a more fluid Bradford City XI compared to the first half team. Gabe Wadsworth looked a revelation at right wing back. Fellow youth prospects George Goodman and Leon Brookes showed promise. Pattison glided past defenders with ease to remind us all what a big loss it was that he was injured for 90% of last season. There was some excellent link up play between Pattison and Jamie Walker that promises much for the season ahead. At the other end of the scale, Sam Stubbs was shaky at the back and Clarke Oduor struggled to affect the game. These imperfections ensured that – although Chorley were hanging on a bit – the hosts were good value for the win.

Don’t panic. Of course don’t panic. Why would we panic? And yet this was no marker of intent. No great demonstration of City’s quality and credentials. There was a chill in the air that was more than the Lancashire wind. And for Graham Alexander, it means the journey home would have felt less comfortable than the journey there. Restful sleep a little harder to achieve over the coming days.

Just as a convincing City thumping of Chorley would have been no guarantee they would romp to promotion this season, losing like this does not mean they are doomed to fail. Yet this performance shows there is work to do. Gaps to fill. Improvements to make. Ultimately, they have some way to go if they’re going to be ready for when it gets truly serious.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC