By Jason McKeown

In many ways the temptation is to say nothing. Don’t get excited. Don’t make any proclamations. Don’t jinx it. Stay wary. Remain guarded. Because we’ve been fooled by too many false dawns in the past.

So whisper it quietly – very, very quietly in fact – but Bradford City are starting to genuinely feel repaired and functioning. They look, walk and quack like a credible promotion contender. The evidence presented so far is all very encouraging. The dashboard is lit up with green lights. This latest win was their best moment yet. A hard-fought, dig deep and thoroughly merited three points that saw City exhibit many of the qualities that are typically the hallmark of promotion-winning sides.

Beating Gillingham lifts the Bantams to fifth in the table, with a quarter of the season now completed. They’ve won six of their 12 games (50%), and if they maintain their current trajectory they will end the season on 80 points. It’s the longest into a season they’ve not lost a home game since they spent the whole of the 2016/17 campaign undefeated at Valley Parade.

We still have some way to go until the vibes around the famous old ground are as positive as they were back then. But the feelgood factor is definitely returning. This was the best atmosphere for some time. The Kop serenaded the players over the line, buoyed by the nature of the come-from-behind drama that always makes equalising and winning goals taste that bit sweeter. You know you’ve had a good day when your young centre half scores a goal that earns comparisons with Zinedine Zidane.

The growing positivity was put to the test here, with City conceding early doors and spending most of the first half battling to come back. But whereas so often such a scenario would prompt groans and boos from an understandably weary crowd – transmitting fear onto the players, who would wilt under the pressure – here everyone stuck together. A home crowd and group of players united. No panic. No implosion. Calm assurance, which was the bedrock of City fighting back to earn victory.

The lack of drama was probably the most striking aspect. City were losing to a pretty good Gillingham outfit – who in patches, at least, looked like the best side to visit Valley Parade so far this season – but confidence in the ability of the home side to recover and prosper never really waived. The team kept doing all the right things. They never veered from their clear sense of purpose. They have a plan, a very good plan, and they have the courage to stick to it.

In fact Gillingham’s biggest mistake was probably scoring as early as they did. The Kent side had started the season well and topped the league in September, but they came to West Yorkshire on the back of three straight losses. During the week manager Mark Bonner had warned his players to “change or be changed”. He clearly didn’t have the patience to see if such words were heeded, opting to make six alterations to his XI. Bonner and Gillingham’s commitment to playing a certain way, even in rocky moments, invites comparisons with Stuart McCall’s first tenure as City manager, where they would go on long, confidence sapping losing runs and not know how to stop them.

Like City in 2009 going 1-0 up at Morecambe, only to lose, Gillingham’s early breakthrough only succeeded in showcasing their volatile anxiety levels and thinbare belief. They had looked really good going forwards at 0-0, with attacking midfielders George Lapsile, Joseph Gbode and Jayden Clarke pulling City’s centre backs apart and exploiting big gaps behind Tyreik Wright and Brad Halliday. Their goal came this way, with Wright caught upfield after a turnover and Jack Shepherd dragged out of position, enabling Clarke to find space and finish smartly. Really good football from Gillingham.

But going 1-0 up with 79 minutes to play is an awful long time to be left worrying about throwing away a game, just like Gillingham did at home to struggling Accrington the week before. Do you keep attacking or defend deeper? Gillingham went too soon in their retreat. Were too premature in reverting to time-wasting. They’re in a tough spot right now for sure, and in other circumstances could have made this a difficult afternoon for the Bantams. Ultimately, the team who were in a fragile mental state was no match for the team with rising conviction levels.

It was really encouraging from City. 1-0 behind, no matter. The Bantams had also had the early distraction of a goal disallowed when Calum Kavanagh did something silly. City had won possession deep with Neil Byrne sending Clarke Oduor away, who did brilliantly to win a free kick from Mac Clark. Richie Smallwood sent over a set piece cross, from which Shepherd popped up at the far post to direct the ball towards goal. It was going in, but Kavanagh wanted to make sure and ran in to tap home. The problem? He was offside. Had he left it, the ball would have crossed the line anyway and City would have been 1-0 up.

Kavanagh faced the wrath of angry team mates, not least Smallwood, who absolutely tore into the 21-year-old. Yep…understandable anger…but not a great look from the City skipper. When Sam Walker made a horrendous mistake against Carlisle in September, Smallwood was the first to comfort and gee up the City stopper. Walker hasn’t put a foot wrong since. It’s within Smallwood’s gift to help Kavanagh in a similar way.

It’s no secret the young striker is going through a tough time. He made an error. He’s had a lot of stick in the aftermath. But everyone needs to take a step back now and let Kavanagh absorb the lesson – team mates and supporters.

Much of Kavanagh’s afternoon alternated between promise and disappointment. So many nearly moments, where it almost all came together. He needs a goal – that’s an understatement – but he still does many things well. It is a concern that no City striker beyond Andy Cook is doing great, but Kavanagh absolutely deserves that starting place alongside him right now. As Filipe Morais said on BBC Radio Leeds after the game, “Producing those energy levels is a skill in itself.”

Kavanagh and co shook off early disappointments and kept going. They forced several corners, exposed a shakiness in Gillingham goalkeeper Jake Turner – who was making his first start since August. And though defensively City kept struggling with Gillingham’s movement and Halliday almost scored an own goal at one point, the threat of an equaliser remained credible.

Sure enough, Jamie Walker sent over a corner to the far post that Byrne got on the end of to flick home his first goal in Bradford City colours. And with parity restored, City kept going. Just before the half time whistle, another free kick from Smallwood caused carnage in the box, with Turner flapping badly. The ball fell to Shepherd, who took a few steps back before unleashing a first time volley that absolutely flew into the back of the net.

There aren’t words to do justice to just how superb this goal was from Shepherd. A bolt from the blue. A piece of such stunning technical quality that frankly had no business in League Two, especially coming right after a pretty ugly scramble in the box. The goal of the season has perhaps already been sealed – we’re in a for a treat if we witness a better one than Shepherd’s between now and May.

Emerging from the break 2-1 down, you expected a strong reaction from Gillingham. But it never materialised. They had just three shots on goal in the second half – zero on target. 61% possession, and a considerable 281 passes to City’s 175. But Sam Walker had virtually nothing to do.

Instead it was a really encouraging demonstration of game management from City. A skill that has been badly lacking at Valley Parade for too many years. With Cook and Kavanagh pressing, Walker and Oduor showing clever movement and skill to run past opposition players, and with Smallwood superb in anchoring midfield, City set traps and sprung when they had the chance. The better opportunities of the half all came at the Kop end the Bantams attacked.

Graham Alexander too managed the subs brilliantly. He had made a decisive first half change by taking Wright off as a precaution after he picked up a yellow card and small injury in a matter of minutes. Lewis Richards was brought on and had a very good game.

Midway through the second half, Alexander withdrew a tiring Walker for Bobby Pointon, who was his usual box of tricks that kept Gillingham on their toes. Finally Alexander swapped his front two of Cook and Kavanagh for Vadaine Oliver and Tyler Smith, who both showed excellent discipline to help City run down the clock by keeping the ball. Corry Evans also produced a useful cameo from the bench.

Gillingham were odd for sure. Bonner threw on Jonny Williams and asked him to basically play as a central defender, in a doomed attempt to dictate the game. They passed and passed and passed. Backwards, side to side, forwards, but then back again. They were so slow – slower than the fast-counting-down clock. The cliche of they could have played all night and not scored absolutely rang true.

For all of City’s defensive jitters in the first half, they were really organised after the break. Byrne is such an important organisational presence. Shepherd is really blossoming at Valley Parade and growing in stature. Diabete always seems to have a moment or two to provoke worry, but was generally solid. Halliday is getting back to the player we know he can be.

Ultimately, City were as comfortable as you can look defending a one-goal advantage. A team packed full of seven out of 10 performers, incredibly well organised and clear about their responsibilities. And they’re starting to show the right kind of consistency.

A come-from-behind victory is always a good sign because it demonstrates character. They also haven’t been achieved often enough by City, especially over recent times. Much has rightly been made of Sky Sports’ striking research that, since September 2023, the Bantams have won 18 and drawn 1 of the 19 matches where they scored first. But what about their record when going 1-0 down?

Over that same period, they’ve conceded the first goal 24 times, going on to lose 15, draw four and win just three times. And those three wins (Doncaster, Salford and Walsall) all came on the road. The last time they won came from behind to win at Valley Parade? August 2023, and a 2-1 success over Colchester. No wonder Shepherd’s goal felt so good.

Yet as amazing as Shepherd’s goal was, the truth is that this wasn’t even the most important goal the on loan Barnsley defender has scored this month. That came at the start of October, and the last minute equaliser he netted at Morecambe. At that point, City were in a tough spot – down to the bare bones defensively, and playing extremely poorly. Shepherd’s late goal couldn’t prevent City’s winless run stretching to four games, but it rescued the club from crisis.

And it increasingly feels like a crucial turning point.

Since then, it’s three straight wins, a return to the play off places, and within striking distance of top spot. Two of those successes have come on home soil, making it four wins from the opening six Valley Parade league matches – and, if you add in the back end of last season, it’s 23 points from the last 27 available on home soil.

In fact, the last time we headed out of Valley Parade after witnessing defeat was that 3-0 humbling to Notts County in March – 214 days ago. That was right in the midst of that horrendous collapse in form that triggered sparse home crowds, protests, open letters and apologises. I went home after that Notts County humbling and darkly wrote, “We are witnessing the slow extinction of Bradford City Football Club.”

The club was in a nosedive then, but has pulled itself back. And now we seem to be genuinely moving upwards again. Upwards because of changes to club strategy. Upwards because of installing genuine football know-how at the top. Upwards because of smarter recruitment. And above all else upwards because of the understated, methodical leadership of Graham Alexander.

There is an awful long way to go. Nothing has been achieved and everything may yet fall apart again. But some of the basics are back in place in last. Not least having a team you can believe in and feel proud to support.

Even if we’re not yet ready to risk saying it out loud.  

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC, Gillingham, League Two