By Adam Raj

It had been 16 years and a day since City last tasted victory on matchday one in the bottom tier and as opening day fixtures go, City couldn’t have asked for a harder test of their early season credentials.

MK Dons are the bookies’ favourites for the League Two title and you can see why. After last season’s play off capitulation, the Dons have recruited pretty ambitiously and play a style of football that is particularly pleasing on the eye, for the purists amongst us.

Graham Alexander opted to hand out debuts to three of his new recruits (four if you include Tyreik Wright’s third City debut) at Stadium MK – Aden Baldwin, Neill Byrne and Antoni Sarcevic were all awarded starts. Notable absentees included Bobby Pointon, Jamie Walker and Jake Young, who could only make the bench – a welcome sign of the strength in depth at the top end of the pitch.

A player who it felt like was making his debut was Alex Pattison. The midfielder has almost become the forgotten man after barely featuring in the last campaign but was entrusted by Alexander to form a new look midfield with Sarcevic and skipper Richie Smallwood.

But for those who needed reminding what an important player Pattison can be – they didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes. A tricky run from Wright down the left flank saw him chop inside and square to City’s new number 16 who took one touch before striking a rocket past Tom McGill in the Dons goal from 25 yards out. This was a very impressive performance from Pattison – his drive, energy and goal scoring threat has been badly missed. He offers a combination of attributes that no other City midfielder does. He was at the heart of everything that was good about Bradford City this afternoon and it is vital that he is kept fit.

Five minutes later, things got even better. Again, Pattison and Wright were at the heart of it – the former winning a loose ball in the final third, playing Wright in down the left flank whose cross was sliced into his own net by Dons’ debutant Sam Sherring.

City had caught their hosts flat footed in the first ten minutes. They were stunned by City’s high energy and intense start and in the blink of an eye, the visitors were two to the good.

But with 82 minutes still left to play, it was far from game over. As the half wore on, the hosts settled and began to play the football that everyone was expecting. The constant rotations throughout their team made it a very difficult afternoon for City off the ball, especially in wide areas. Aaron Nemane was a constant threat down their right side which was an area that the hosts had clearly targeted.

Out of possession, Wright often found himself in a narrow midfield position, with Ciaran Kelly playing as an orthodox left back in a back four. This meant that the whole back line then shifted across, but it wasn’t a particularly seamless move. MK Dons exploited the space between the centre halves with midfield runners as City were slow to tighten up into shape. Their movement was causing City a lot of problems and it will be interesting to see if this tactical decision was by design or as a result of the circumstances City found themselves in.

20 minutes in and the hosts had a lifeline. A neat give and go between Callum Hendry and Alex Gilbey saw the Dons skipper get wrong side of Brad Halliday and advance into the box before slotting under Sam Walker.

On the stroke of half time the hosts could have been level. Hendry took advantage of those holes in the City back line with a clever run before forcing Walker into a good save to his right – the follow up from Gilbey was then blocked well by Byrne.

Early in the second half and MK Dons got even closer. Nemane drew the attention of both Kelly and Wright on halfway allowing Stephen Wearne to exploit the space left in behind down the left flank. He drove forward and squared towards Hendry who would’ve had a tap in if not for a fantastic last ditch tackle by Halliday.

Minutes later and the hosts should have been level. Joe Tomlinson squared for Wearne five yards out but with the goal at his mercy, he couldn’t sort his feet out. The ball hit the standing leg of the MK Dons winger when he looked certain to score.

The hosts went close further from Gilbey and substitute Matthew Dennis who both drew good saves from Walker but City managed to hang on for an important three points.

There was a lot to like about City today. The Bantams played with a lot of energy and intent and there were some promising signs of decent passages of play. Sarcevic was very composed in midfield, albeit faded and Wright and Pattison were influential going forwards.

City’s defence is a concern. On paper, it is the weakest looking area of the pitch and today’s performance didn’t do an awful lot to convince me otherwise. Baldwin, Byrne and Kelly had some shaky moments and made errors between them that led to far too many opportunities on the City goal. There was some good last ditch defensive moments, but that shouldn’t be confused for good defending. Good defending wouldn’t have allowed the chances to have been created in the first place. But on the other hand, City won’t play a team in League Two with movement as good as that all season. City’s defensive line may look far more assured against weaker and more limited opposition.

Similarly, Alexander recognised the need for City to take more care of the ball and be more assured in possession, rather than just clearing the ball upfield. If the midfield and forward line retain possession, then there’s less pressure on the defensive unit. It’s an area of improvement for sure.

Game 1 of 46. Three points and plenty of positives to take from the performance against difficult and much fancied opposition. I’m not entirely sure if statement victories exist this early, but it’s one that’s caught the eye, that’s for sure.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC, League Two, MK Dons