By Adam Raj

This was never going to be easy. But even by the standards of Bradford City, the tensions are reaching unbearable levels.

Make no mistake, City were largely excellent today. First half especially, they looked every inch a side on the way to promotion, just as they had done in the opening moments at Swindon.

They should’ve been one up within the first few minutes, Calum Kavanagh found himself in behind the Chesterfield back line and squared to Alex Pattison whose shot was tame and straight at Ryan Boot. It wasn’t the best pass from Kavanagh but City’s stand in skipper really should’ve buried it.

But that was a sign of things to come. City were so full of energy and pace in that first half, Chesterfield couldn’t lay a glove on them. The press was suffocating the home side into making mistake after mistake and the Bantams smelt blood.

Ten minutes in and City had their rewards. Kavanagh produced a neat flick to set Pattison away to drive towards the box. Pattison produced the right pass and fed Bobby Pointon who slotted in off the post under the outstretched challenge from Ash Palmer.

City continued to play with an intensity that saw them get in behind Chesterfield time and time again. Kavanagh’s pace was causing all sorts of problems for a defence that was less than mobile. Pattison and Brandon Khela were having excellent games – so sharp and alive to everything, the hosts’ ageing midfield of John Fleck and Tom Naylor couldn’t live with them and were second to every ball.

Nine minutes later and City doubled their lead. Pointon’s corner flew past everyone but Naylor was a little too keen to stop Antoni Sarcevic from picking up the loose ball and pulled the City number ten to the floor. City had what was a rare spot kick and Sarcevic made no mistake, lashing the ball straight down the middle.

City were well worth their two goal lead and the only negative is it wasn’t more.

But then comes stoppage time…

City have unearthed an uncanny knack of shooting themselves in the foot on their travels recently. Two goals to the good at Swindon last time out and City fail to see the game through to the break with their margin of lead in tact. Nine days later and it happened again. Michael Olakigbe was wrong side of Tayo Adaramola and Jack Shepherd, he cut it back for Jenson Metcalfe who swept in off of the far post. Suddenly it was 1-2 in a game City had absolutely dominated.

“The timings of the goals are absolutely murdering us” Graham Alexander bemoaned afterwards. And he’s right. City needed to see that half out to nil with a professional ending, something it looks like they’ve forgotten how to do.

Thankfully, the damage was erased almost instantly as the game resumed. Pointon did well to rob Metcalfe on halfway and played a ball up the line to Kavanagh who got in behind again. Adaramola was bursting forward on the underlap and was played in perfectly by Kavanagh before lifting an inch perfect ball for Pattison to head home with a fabulous effort.

1-3 and nothing more than the Bantams deserved.

But shortly after came the turning point. Khela was replaced by Jamie Walker in what was a substitution that confused everyone in claret and amber. Whilst it had been a terrific team performance, Khela and Pattison had been the heartbeat and the catalyst for everything that had been so successful. That substitution disrupted that flow more than Alexander could’ve imagined.

Sarcevic replaced Khela in the deeper role but could not get to grips with the intricacies of City’s press in that area. Not only that, but we lost everything that Sarcevic had been doing well further up the pitch.

Chesterfield suddenly got back into it. They were finding more space in between the lines, they were playing through the press much more successfully and working opportunities to put dangerous balls into the box.

The change, according to Alexander, was down to Khela feeling unwell at half time, so the knives that were well and truly out for him at full time are put away for now.

71 minutes on the clock and the hosts pulled one back. Metcalfe broke the lines and played Will Grigg in behind Aden Baldwin. The striker rounded Sam Walker and had an easy finish into an open net.

Further enforced changed lead to Romoney Critchlow becoming Pattison’s third partner of the day and the last of City’s control in that area quickly evaporated.

City had stopped doing everything that worked so well and were not doing the one thing that they should’ve been.

Alexander’s post match comments criticised the decision making and game management from the lesser experienced players in the squad.

Putting it bluntly, there was no game management. We see it most weeks at Valley Parade, teams manage to run the clock down with absolute ease, ten men behind the ball and frustrate the life out of us.

We have not got this about us. We’re not nasty enough when it matters and don’t understand the context of games where that sort of behaviour is a necessity.

It’s the reason we threw it away at Swindon and it’s the reason we threw another two points away this afternoon.

93 minutes on the clock today and Liam Mandeville was afforded the time and space to spin and fire his shot home from ten yards out.

I felt sick. Twice in a week, City have managed to shoot themselves in the foot and rob themselves of five points. They have thrown away a two goal lead four times over those two games.

And it was all so preventable. The substitutions will receive the attention, no doubt but the players on the pitch have got to manage the game better, much better. To do this twice in three games with this much on the line is bordering on unforgivable. It was only thanks to even more dropped points by Walsall that City remain in an automatic promotion place.

Amazingly, City are still only three points off top spot with a game at leaders Doncaster to follow on Saturday. A repeat for the first hour today and City have every chance of a positive result, but under no circumstances can they afford to ‘manage’ a game in the way they have done lately. This cannot be repeated for a third time.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: BCAFC, Chesterfield, League Two