By Tim Penfold

Well, we can just concentrate on the league. It was a mostly positive performance from Bradford City tonight, but a missed penalty in normal time and two in a shootout mean that they are out of the League Cup in round one.

Graham Alexander switched personnel around but kept his usual 3-5-2 system. Jack Shepherd came in for a full debut in defence, while Lewis Richards replaced Tyreik Wright at left wing back. In midfield, Jamie Walker and Clarke Oduor were selected as the attacking midfield options, and up front Vadaine Oliver made his first start for the club since January.

It was a positive, attacking start with City pressing well and creating openings. Shepherd had an early header from a corner ruled out for a foul. Brad Halliday also had a shot that stung the palms of home keeper Jake Eastwood, while at the other end Sam Walker made a good save following a Grimsby counter.

The game then fizzled out a bit before sparking into life around the half hour mark. Shepherd was fouled at a corner, giving a penalty to City. With usual taker Andy Cook off the field, captain Richie Smallwood stepped up but hammered it over via the crossbar. It was yet another case of an overhit set piece from the City skipper, and you do wonder if there were better options to take the spot-kick.

It was a costly miss, as Grimsby then went down the other end and scored. A low cross came in from the right and Neill Byrne did not cover himself in glory while dealing with it, allowing Donovan Wilson to fire past Sam Walker for 1-0.

At this point, City had a wobble. Their approach play went off the boil, and Grimsby suddenly started playing around the high press. Once they were through the Bantams’ first line of defence there wasn’t really any structure to the rest of the team. Smallwood was often left with too many runners to deal with, and the back three looked wobbly. Too often we saw breaks of four on three that the hosts really should’ve taken advantage of.

The second half began with City finding their purpose and control again, though Grimsby remained a threat on the counter. The game ended up mostly played in the Grimsby half, and the Bantams began to create chances. One saw Andy Cook – on for the injured Oliver – head a corner dangerously into the six yard box, but neither Byrne nor Calum Kavanagh could turn it home. Kavanagh then flicked a header over the bar from a left wing cross, before former Bantam Charles Vernam charged away on the counter for the hosts and fired wide.

The subs then came after the hour mark. Jake Young and Bobby Pointon made their first appearances of the campaign, while Antoni Sarcevic replaced Jamie Walker. With Pointon replacing Richards, Oduor moved to left wing back and the City system added another creator.

Young nearly had an early impact with a shot from distance after a poor Eastwood clearance left him out of position, but didn’t quite catch it and allowed the home keeper to recover. Oduor linked with Pointon a couple of times and caused issues down the left. One of these attacks wasn’t properly cleared, with Smallwood mopping up possession well into the Grimsby half. He fed Oduor, who played a neat one-two with Pointon and fizzed a low cross-shot – via a slight touch from the despairing keeper – to Andy Cook’s feet a few yards out.

1-1, and it was game on.

Unfortunately City weren’t able to keep this intensity up – there were some promising moves, but the final ball wasn’t quite there, and Grimsby still threatened when they got the ball back and countered. The biggest chance of the last few minutes was a stoppage time header from Cook that looped straight into the keeper’s arms – and now it was penalties.

Smallwood took the first one and managed to keep it under the crossbar this time, before Sam Walker made a good save from Grimsby’s first penalty to give City the advantage. Unfortunately, this was immediately squandered by Brad Halliday, whose penalty was low and nowhere near the corner and therefore easily saved. From then on it was a succession of good penalties that both keepers didn’t really get near to, until the 10th round of spot-kicks. Neill Byrne’s shot was saved, George McEachran’s wasn’t and City were out.

There was a lot to like about City’s performance. They were dominant in both territory and shots, and really should’ve won the game inside 90 minutes. The passing and movement is slick, and there are plenty of good options both in attacking midfield and up front. However, this system is vulnerable to the counter. A team that breaks the press can overwhelm Smallwood at times, and the back three doesn’t look anywhere near as solid as last season.

At our best last season, we had a back three with either Daniel Oyegoke or Jon Tomkinson on the right, Ciaran Kelly on the left and Matty Platt in the middle, with Sam Stubbs covering admirably when Platt was out. None of these players featured tonight, and three are no longer at the club. We really needed the recovery pace provided by Oyegoke and Tomkinson, while Platt was a solid and impressive organiser in the middle. Byrne did not have a good game in that role, and the defence as a whole looked wobbly.

It’s this balance that Graham Alexander needs to find – can he keep the attacking fluidity while making things a bit tighter at the back? If he can solve this problem, then this City team can go a long way.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC, Grimsby Town, League Cup