By Jason McKeown

It wasn’t a night to leave Graham Alexander reaching for the aspirins because of excruciating headaches over team selections, but it was decent enough from Bradford City’s back ups, who showed spirit to come from behind and be on the brink of collecting the three points, before sloppily conceding an equaliser deep in stoppage time. A low stakes penalty shootout followed, where Newcastle’s kids triumphed. Work to do for City to qualify for the next round, but what matters more is the evidence of strength in depth for when it truly counts.

They largely played well here, dominating their youthful counterparts in the shots, corners and possession stakes. It came with four players making their first starts of the season, and two of the subs picking up their first minutes of action this campaign. Eight changes in total were made. Some worked well, some less so. The measure of success ultimately lies in how many of those eight changes Alexander elects to swap back.

In games like this, you find yourself judging individual performances more than the overall display of the team. Whether you’re a Newcastle fledgling with the world to prove, or a more seasoned Bradford City footballer looking to get into the next League Two starting line up, there’s all sorts of mini battles going on to impress. Personal agendas, where you’re not just competing with an opposition side but also your team mates. The game swings wildly between academy-style possession football from the Premier League kids, to lower league muscle directness. A clash of styles that can make for a disjointed match, especially with the sparse crowd robbing the occasion of genuine intensity.  

On the individual player front, Alexander will have learned new things and had other views reaffirmed. City’s second goal a case in point. There was the lovely cross from the galloping debutant Jay Benn – 11 minutes after coming on for his debut – that suggests the Bantams have recruited a right wing back with attacking potential to push Brad Halliday. There was the ever-reliable Andy Cook on hand to tap home Benn’s cross, reminding us yet again how vital he is. And don’t forget the lovely turn and superb through ball from the blossoming Bobby Pointon which set Benn away in the first place. Something old, something new, something borrowed (from Lincoln) leaving Newcastle Under 21s feeling somewhat blue. A great team goal that deserved to win the game.

It didn’t win it though, because of more bad defending from a set piece that earned Newcastle a draw and further hints at a soft underbelly at the back that simply wasn’t there under Alexander last season. A free kick out wide that came in at slow pace, a rash miskick from Cook, and a scramble in the box where City could not get near enough to Josh David Donaldson.

The first goal from Newcastle – just before half time – hadn’t been great defending either. Debutant loanee Cheick Diabete had pushed out to try and engage with Ben Parkinson on the edge of the box. But the Newcastle forward – who played 36 minutes Premier League football for the Magpies last season – held Diabete off and played it to Anthony Junior Munda, who sent it out wide. Johnny Emerson crossed the ball, and Parkinson popped up to head home – Diabete had lost sight of his man, and Jack Shepherd didn’t quite react fast enough to get sufficiently near to the Newcastle forward.  

That Diabete and Shepherd didn’t do a little more to impress will slightly frustrate. Both looked fine. Decent squad signings for sure. But whether they push the dial upwards remains up for debate. Over the last two seasons, loanee centre halves have played a big role for City, and the early season shakiness of the Bantams leaves the jury out on whether there’s enough quality in the defensive recruits. This is the area of the team where Alexander will want to have headaches. He’s not getting them so far.

It takes time for defensive partnerships to gel and there’s been so much personnel change in this part of the squad over the summer. But with seven goals conceded in the first six games, league and cup, there’s work to do for sure. It’s just not difficult enough to score a goal against Bradford City in these early parts of the season. That needs to improve.

The big positive came up at the other end in the shape of Olly Sanderson. The on loan Fulham bagged the equaliser, quickly replying to Parkinson’s opener when he received the ball from Clarke Oduor on the edge of the box, took a touch to create the space and finished expertly. He was harshly denied a second from a thumping header that flew into the net just before half time, the referee seemingly ruling it out for a push. Sanderson’s solid display built on his goalscoring cameo at Grimsby last Saturday. His physique, his invention and his ability to link up play made Sanderson a greater threat than what Calum Kavanagh has offered up so far. A starting berth on Saturday is now surely his.

Alongside Sanderson leading the line was…Jamie Walker. Okay. Didn’t expect that. In a matter of days, City have gone from having six potent strikers on their books to deploying an attacking midfielder up front. Resting up Cook and dropping Kavanagh was sensible here, and Vadaine Oliver’s recovery from concussion demands caution, but what a kick in the teeth this must have been for Tyler Smith. To discover your manager would rather play someone out of position, instead of giving you an opportunity. The competition’s top scorer last season kicked his heels on the bench, getting a grand total of seven minutes action late on. He is clearly some distance from Alexander’s thoughts.

As for playing Walker up front, not sure it really works. Walker’s diminishing status has been one of the biggest mysteries of City’s early part of the season. He ended last year in sparkling form, was rumoured to the subject of summer interest from several League One clubs, and yet has fallen to fourth choice for the attacking midfielder slots. Here, Walker willingly put in a shift as a striker and did okay, but in doing so he was denied the opportunity to stake a claim in his best position.

Walker held up the ball fine. He made intelligent runs. He linked up reasonably well with Sanderson. But his greatest strengths lie in operating deeper, finding space, linking up with others to build up attacks, and bursting late into the box. For different reasons to Smith, Jamie Walker must be so frustrated with his manager. An injury to Antoni Sarcevic, and Alex Pattison’s struggles to hit the same heights as his opening day performance, should have given Walker a chance in his natural position. If he is back on the bench on Saturday, it will be rough justice.  

With another debut signing Joe Adams having a bit of a mixed night (good at times but some wasteful passes that suggest he still needs to find full rhythm), Walker should at least retain fourth choice status. Oduor is unexpectedly proving himself a useful squad player, and showed some decent flashes as an attacking midfielder next to Adams. The lack of cover for Richie Smallwood – which meant the captain started here, when really you’d want to protect him from games like this – is a concern. He probably should have been booked for one late challenge. Keep him in cotton wool until Saturday.

After the game swung from Newcastle to City and then back to Newcastle, with their stoppage time intervention, the Bantams lost their second penalty shootout of the campaign already. Jamie Walker, Smith and Pointon successfully converted from 12 yards, but Pattison and Cook’s attempts were saved by Newcastle’s Aidan Harris. Cook’s penalty record in City colours continues to dwindle. He’s now missed four out of his last six spot kick attempts. No wonder Smallwood has taken over regular responsibilities.

It shouldn’t matter that City don’t get the bonus point in a dumb rule from a competition plagued by dumbness (can we get on with removing these Premier League B teams yet?) But the extra point Newcastle collected could yet prove crucial in the final shake up. City head to Mansfield Town for their next group game two in a few weeks (Mansfield lost their opening tie to Rotherham).

For now though it’s back to the league. Back to the real meaning. After Saturday’s disappointing loss, the need to tweak the starting line up is obvious. This performance didn’t see every City player make the strongest of cases to earn a start against Carlisle this weekend, but it did show that Alexander has decent options available – and he will need to think carefully about using them.

Ultimately in recent years, the bar of what’s it’s taken to be a City regular hasn’t been high enough. Competition for places mild rather than fierce. And that has not always lead to the highest of standards. Nights like this suggest that – this time around – Alexander has the strength in depth to change that.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC, Football League Trophy, Newcastle United