By Jason McKeown

Points dropped but vibes gained. Bradford City’s winning run is over and yet their performance in Gloucestershire offers further weight to the growing conviction they are serious promotion contenders. They should have won really, but their failure to do so was not down to serious shortcomings. Sometimes, no matter how loudly you knock on the door, it just doesn’t open.

And they really did knock loudly here. In the second half especially, City bossed the game for long spells. 12 second half shots to Cheltenham’s four. Seven corners to two. 74% possession. Knock, knock, knock. Ultimately, they didn’t quite carry enough end product to make it count.

Over the course of the full 90 minutes, it would be a stretch to say the Bantams deserved more than to share the spoils. But on a night where Doncaster lost at home to third bottom Bromley, there can be some comfort to take from not stumbling in the kind of fixture that Bradford City so often trip up over. It wasn’t us having a night of embarrassment.

Cheltenham have struggled since being relegated back to this level. This was a winnable looking fixture and, well, City habitually let us down in winnable looking fixtures. But there was no repeat of Harrogate or even Morecambe here. City gave a good account of themselves and will have no need for a long post-mortem over how they didn’t register a fourth straight win.

For seven blissful minutes, the outlook was especially bright. That was the period that City led after Neill Bryne rose above a half-hearted challenge from Luke Young to head home a Richie Smallwood free kick that put City in front. Two goals in two games for the Irishman, who seems to have found a new level of performance since returning from injury. Bryne was once again excellent all night in the centre of the three. Organising those around him and setting up attacks with his accurate long passes that are beginning to rival Rory McArdle in his pomp.

But dreams of four straight wins and League Two domination were punctured soon after, when Young made up for his doziness by rifling a powerful shot into the net from outside the box after Ethon Archer had laid the ball into his path. Young’s shot had a swerve, but Sam Walker will rightly feel he should have done better at keeping it out.

Those would prove the only goals of the night, but there was plenty going on before and after. The former Bantam loanee George Miller had a goal disallowed in the third minute and Lewis Richards had a strong call for a penalty moments later, after a rampaging run was ended by being dragged down in the box. A free kick right on the edge of the area was referee Jamie O’Connor’s decision. Hmmm.

After Cheltenham’s equaliser, the home side’s tails were up and they had a really strong spell of pressure. Walker made up for his weakness for the goal by producing a couple of superb saves. Cheltenham had their own decent penalty shout too when Jack Shepherd appeared to block a cross attempt with his hand. It was the sort of handball that never used to be considered a handball, then definitely became viewed as a handball in recent years, but now the sport is in this weird area where handball incidents are greyer than ever. You can understand why Cheltenham players were screaming for a penalty. You can also understand why O’Connor said no.

Penalty calls evened up, you might say.

Alexander clearly spent much of half time rebuilding City’s composure and getting them functioning. He did not change his XI, but he did make the small but significant tweak of swapping Jamie Walker and Bobby Pointon. Both had played below their best in the first half, with Pointon especially anonymous. But the switch of sides saw them both become much more effective. And City really took control.

Indeed, the pitting of Pointon closer to Calum Kavanagh really did stir something in City that maybe we’ve not seen since the end of last season. Witness the beautiful but agonising moment where Pointon smacked an effort against the crossbar. In the build up, the young midfielder sent a great ball to Kavanagh, who took a touch and delivered a wonderful weighted pass back into Pointon’s path, teeing him up for the shot. The best move of the night.

It’s curious why Alexander has been resistant to try this link up sooner. It’s well documented that last season’s late surge in form came when Pointon was brought into the team. In all of the final seven games of 2023/24, Pointon and Kavanagh both started, and they played near each other on the left to brilliant effect (with Tyreik Wright as left wing back also linking up with the pair). City won six and drew one of those final seven games.

Before tonight, Pointon and Kavanagh had started just one game together this season – the 2-1 loss at Grimsby, where Kavanagh was hooked off at half time. Other than that, they’ve been on the pitch together a grand total of 39 minutes. On four occasions, Kavanagh has been taken off just as Pointon was brought on. Ships passing in the night.

With Pointon back on the left and back close to Kavanagh, the pair worked off each other very effectively in the second half. It was not perfect of course, and Kavanagh’s confidence struggles are unmistakable. But with Lewis Richards getting up and down really well, the left of City’s attack looked really positive because of the trio. Walker was also improved on the right, finding space and making things happen. Andy Cook was quiet but did see a header saved. This came from a corner from Smallwood (who was once again exceptional) – it is noticeable that a lot of City’s set piece cross attempts are being aimed at the back post.

But Pointon became the most likely source. He was too quiet in the first half – in danger of letting a rare opportunity to start (Clarke Oduor was unavailable) pass him by. In danger of giving further fuel to the theory floated by some supporters that the homegrown hero is, at the moment, better as a sub than as a starter. Maybe it was the positional issues that Alexander tweaked, or maybe there was a rocket delivered from the confides of the dressing room towards Bobby. Either way, Pointon was much better in the second half. And as well as hitting the bar, he forced two excellent saves from Cheltenham’s veteran keeper Joe Day.

As much as it was one-way traffic for long spells, and as much as City held a clear physical advantage over their hosts, Cheltenham did dig in and defended admirably. The final 15 minutes were more even, with Archer and Matty Taylor forcing Sam Walker into action. Ultimately the strugglers were holding on though. Their lack of attacking impact best demonstrated by the fact Miller touched the ball just twice in the second half.

So no win, but all was okay. Not the best performance of the season, certainly not the worst. The team is performing in a consistent way. They’re not starting slowly on the road in the manner they limply were earlier in the campaign, where they racked up costly defeats to Grimsby, Walsall and Harrogate. More to come from the team still for sure. Those higher gears remain illusive. But there’s no disgrace in the result or performance here. Take the point and move on.

And what a game to move on to. On Saturday Doncaster Rovers travel to Valley Parade with a bumper crowd expected. A Yorkshire Derby. Fifth vs fourth. City go into the game with the joint third best home record in the division (nope, that’s not a typo). And because they didn’t lose here, as fans we can absolutely concentrate on getting enthused about an all too rare big Valley Parade occasion.

Everything is bubbling up nicely. Confidence is growing. Excitement is surging. Saturday is a considerable test of Bradford City’s promotion credentials. If they can lay down a marker by winning, the vibes of exuberance will be difficult to contain.  

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC, Cheltenham Town, League Two