By Jason McKeown

They were down on their knees at 2.28pm, and yet by 4.54pm they had been gifted the biggest of reprieves. This initially went very, very wrong for Bradford City, as they lost such a high stakes occasion. But they were let off the hook by Walsall stuttering yet again, as the Saddlers lost at home to Accrington with 10 men. It all means automatic promotion is still within City’s hands. A final day home victory over Fleetwood will seal promotion to League One – no matter what Walsall and Notts County do.

In a weird, quirky way, we might look back and say this was all for the best. Going up is of course all that matters, and we hoped today was going to be the day. But if promotion had been confirmed by Walsall losing when City weren’t playing, it would have lacked the communal delirium compared to achieving it on your own ground. 20,000+ of us will congregate to Valley Parade next Saturday for an afternoon we may never forget. Promotion will taste even sweeter if we’re all present to achieve it together.

Yet in the aftermath of losing to Doncaster to leave themselves in a perilous position, such potential highs felt an awfully long way off. This was an utterly horrible 90 minutes. There was misery, some unbelievable what-if moments and – ultimately – unavoidable jealousy, as a party broke out in South Yorkshire that we could play no part in.

Because by winning here, Doncaster are promoted to League One. At full time, the packed out home stands emptied out onto the pitch, as jubilant supporters mobbed their players and celebrated their achievement. Hugs, acclaim and champagne. It was cruel to watch through claret and amber lens. Back inside what would have been a quiet, lonely visiting dressing room, you can only imagine Graham Alexander was urging his browbeaten Bradford City players to use these scenes of triumph as inspiration for creating scenes of their own at Valley Parade next week.

We shall see, but this experience only added further fuel to the suspicions this Bradford City team lacks the mental strength to complete the job. It wasn’t so much that they lost this one, it was the way they contributed to their own downfall, with a stupid, braindead red card and a missed penalty. They can have no complaints about losing, but bestowed outrageous fortune to their grateful hosts. And sadly, this isn’t the first time in recent weeks we can accuse the Bantams of being architects of their own downfall.

And the overall story was indeed quite similar to recent weeks, really. It wasn’t a terrible City performance, and the levels of heart and determination shown offer some evidence they can win this fight for promotion. But let’s not get carried away, it wasn’t exactly a superb showing either. They were narrowly second best, but second best all the same. A yard slower than Doncaster both mentally and physically. Not enough players turned up.

No one more so than Aden Baldwin, who managed to get himself red carded in the normally incident-less window of the the half time whistle sounding and the players exiting the pitch. The 27-year-old was upset – that much was obvious – and the reasons for his anger are not clear. So he argued about something with referee Ross Joyce. And then he argued and argued some more. Joyce eventually booked him, but the matter didn’t end there. That’s because an incensed Baldwin carried on shouting at Joyce.

Sam Walker angrily tried to push his team mate away from the fight, but it was too late. A red card was issued to Baldwin for foul and abusive language.

Just utter, complete madness. We thought there was no possible way we could have a stupider red card than Richie Smallwood’s at Swindon, but Baldwin just told everyone to hold his beer so he could prove there were, in fact, even greater levels of self-sabotage. What made it even more frustrating was Baldwin will have seen Joyce booking Antoni Sarcevic for dissent earlier in the afternoon, when the City man refused to stop complaining about a decision to give Doncaster a free kick. Baldwin probably had very good reason to feel aggrieved. But did he think he would be treated differently to Sarcevic? And what was he hoping to achieve by continuing his crusade? Sadly, he has completely let down the club.

Baldwin’s sense of injustice would appear to be linked to the only goal of the first half, netted by Doncaster’s Rob Street. It all came from a corner that Luke Molyneux had swung over to the far post, where Tom Anderson got above Neill Byrne to glance the ball across the area, from which Street got ahead of Baldwin at the near post to head home. Did Street do something illegal to beat Baldwin to the cross? Or did something happen later to send him into such a rage?

We may or may not find out, but the damage of Baldwin’s lingering fury was huge. City were 1-0 down in a game they dare not lose, and now faced playing a full half with 10 men. Amazingly it was the fifth time in Doncaster’s last six games their opponents have had a man sent off. No question Rovers have found form to seal promotion at just the right moment, but blimey they’ve had a few fortunate breaks along the way.

Not that it would be fair to call Doncaster lucky here. It’s true to say that the game was slow early doors, with the high stakes occasion leading to a nervy and edgy start from both teams. Misplaced passes and bad decision making were prevalent from both sides, with overriding tentativeness betraying any attempts to attack coherently. Doncaster had more of the ball but lacked urgency and tempo.

Yet just like the October meeting at Valley Parade, Grant McCann showed a tactical shrewdness to out-think Alexander. Doncaster had begun with a 4-2-3-1, but midway through the first half Harry Clifton dropped back from a number 10 position to central midfield, meaning the home side had three in the middle. By doing so they began to outgun Brandon Khela and Alex Pattison, leading to them taking more overall control.

City didn’t react fast enough to the change. They had started off playing okay, holding a good off the ball shape and waiting patiently for opportunities to win turnovers and break forward. A snap shot from Pattison was the only effort from both sides in the opening 25 minutes. But after McCann’s subtle tactical tweak, the balance of play shifted with chances arriving.

The former City winger Jordan Gibson – who was lively – turned Byrne and got a shot in that hit the post. The ball bounced down and miraculously froze on the line, allowing Brad Halliday to clear. Soon after full back Jamie Sterry had a sight on goal and his shot deflected just wide with Walker stood motionless. But City’s luck didn’t hold out much longer, with Gibson swapping sides and sending over a dangerous low cross that was cleared for the corner from which Street would score from.

The legality of the goal might be disputed by City and certainly by Baldwin, but it was the latest part of a worrying defensive trend that has seen the Bantams go from impenetrable to frail. Between early January and early March, City had a run of 11 league games where they kept nine clean sheets (conceding just two). But since then, and including today, it’s just two clean sheets from their last 10 games – and 11 goals conceded in their last four.

There is no obvious reason for this drop off. When things were going so well defensively, Alexander was shuffling around his back three and the team barely skipped a beat. The same players who were so reliable then are largely still figuring, but it’s difficult to argue that any City centre back is currently in great form – and the issue has been accelerated by Smallwood’s absence in front of them.

City did fashion out a great chance to equalise when Tayo Adaramola – who was having quite the battle with Sterry – got down the flank and crossed. Pattison made a characteristic late burst into the box, and his low shot at goal was powerful and true. But Doncaster keeper Teddy Sharman-Lowe did brilliantly to block the effort and nudge the ball over the bar. That moment offered some morsels of encouragement as the half time whistle sounded – at least it did until Baldwin lost his head.

Alexander reacted to the unexpected turn of events by reshuffling things at the break. Off went Bobby Pointon and Khela, on came George Lapslie and Tyreik Wright. It looked like a 4-4-1, but with the full backs Halliday and Adarmola remaining very attack-minded and providing width.

And against such a tough backdrop, it actually fared pretty well. City had a good go. They didn’t sit back and accept their fate. They attacked in a measured way. Not many chances, but good few long throw and corner opportunities created. A handful of promising attacking positions were engineered, only for the final pass to not quite be there.

Then along came two major ‘if onlys’ that both involved Wright. First Calum Kavanagh did really well to flick the ball into his path and he charged through one-on-one. Wright’s shot was tame, and Sharman-Lowe made a good save. Even more gilt-edged was an unexpected penalty City won with five minutes to go, when James Maxwell bundled over Lapslie.

Without regular penalty taker Smallwood, and without Antoni Sarcevic – who had been taken off, and who scored a penalty in Smallwood’s absence on Monday – a dilemma occurred over who would take the spot kick. No one seemed to be rushing to put their hands up, and eventually Lapslie gave the ball to Wright to step up. He absolutely did not look confident, and his penalty attempt was weak and well saved by Sharman-Lowe. Is Wright the villain for missing, or is the villain one of the more likely team-mate candidates who seemingly didn’t fancy taking responsibility?

A long break followed as some Doncaster fans got excited, but when play resumed Sharman-Lowe sent the ball long, it was flicked on by Ethan Ennis, and fellow sub Billy Sharp ran onto the loose ball and coolly slotted past Walker to seemingly seal promotion. But there was a late twist when moments later a long Halliday throw was flicked on by Michael Mellon, and Romoney Crichlow fired home his first goal since rejoining the club. 2-1, and time left.

It made the last few minutes edgy, especially when City won a late corner and Walker went up. But Doncaster held on for victory. They didn’t play brilliantly, but they did what was needed to be done. They can now look forward to spending next season playing League One football, and will go into their final game at Notts County hoping to seal the league title.

That honour is mathematically beyond City now, but they still have everything to play for, especially after Walsall’s further slip up. A long seven days lie ahead as we wait for the conclusion to this nerve-jangling story. At least, after yet another away defeat that means they end the regular campaign with just 23 points from 23 away games, the last game takes place within the home comforts of Valley Parade.

But it won’t necessarily be easy. This was a largely poor attacking display that underlines the lack of form of many of their big players. Sarcevic was a curious shadow of himself. Pointon gave his all, but in recent weeks hasn’t quite looked as sharp as he can be. Pattison is also not reaching the levels that for a time – post-Christmas – arguably made him the best player in the division.

We can trace City’s drop off in form – which is now just two wins from their last 10 games – to losing Sarcevic, Pointon and Pattison to injury and illness at the same time. As City faltered, the need to get the influential trio back was obvious. But since their much-desired return, each player hasn’t looked as fresh, sharp and in form, suggesting maybe they were rushed back a little too quickly. They’re still contributing (they all scored on Easter Monday, for example) but they’re not soaring to the heights we know they can reach.

The trouble is, no one else is either.

That’s why these next seven days are absolutely crucial. The team looks mentally shot to pieces, physically struggling to get themselves over the line. And yet, against all logic they’re still in the driving seat. They’ve just got to win one more game. It really is such a fantastic opportunity that lies in front of them. And if they can finally grasp it, all of the recent failings will be forgiven.

As the saying goes, the darkest hour is just before dawn. City’s fall here was certainly as dark as it gets. But it’s still absolutely in their gift to achieve a new dawn.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2024/25, BCAFC, Doncaster Rovers, League Two