Written by Jason McKeown (images by John Dewhirst)

It bodes well that they never gave up. This certainly wasn’t Bradford City at their best – there’s an argument, in fact, that this was their worst performance of the season – but even though they looked down and out for a time, they salvaged something. And that speaks volumes about their spirit and determination.

Was Alex Pattison’s late equaliser fully deserved? Well yes it was, to be fair. But how Rotherham United must have been kicking themselves. One win in their last 11 games, six defeats in their previous seven matches – the Millers had lifted themselves off the floor to set themselves up for an unlikely but badly-needed victory. They were on the brink of claiming the scalp of the league leaders. But they couldn’t see it out. Or rather, City wouldn’t let them.

And so we can talk about just how encouraging it is that City can play this badly and yet recover a two-goal deficit. We can grin over what it says about the Bantams that they fell but did not fold. In our dreamy, league-leading state, we’re almost waiting for reality to pierce through the bubble of positivity – and for a time here it looked like the universe was rebalancing. But no, the giddy vibes continue. This ultimately ended in a feel-good way.

And it really did feel good. Good to see Pattison – who has been so unfortunate with injuries, again – get to have his moment. Lovely to see Andy Cook so involved in the build up play, setting up the equaliser. There was a bravery about City that demonstrated substance behind the style. That maybe they do have the resilience to maintain the pace they are setting.

That all said, we can’t pretend some of the less encouraging elements of the evening didn’t happen. The intensity, drive and purpose we’ve come to know and love from City just wasn’t quite at the usual high level. Perhaps the inspirational Max Power was missed more than we’d have liked. Maybe the pressing of Rotherham’s forward line was too much for an injury hit Bantams back three. Or it could just be this colourless away kit that reminds you of Manchester United’s infamous grey kit of 30 years ago, which they famously ditched midway through a game, claiming the players couldn’t see each other in it. Whatever was going on, this wasn’t quite the Bradford City we’re used to.

Or maybe it was. Because labouring against out of form, struggling opposition sides is certainly in our historic DNA. You could almost see the banana skins peeking through the grass as City players went behind after 20 minutes, when excellent Rotherham passing play resulted in Denzel Hall firing the home side in front.

The goal was hardly against the run of play, but City will have felt they should have been in front before it. Twice early doors Rotherham’s high defensive line was exploited. Twice early doors Will Swan missed presentable chances. First Pattison played him through in acres of space one-on-one, only for City’s top scorer to screw his effort wide of goal. Then Antoni Sarcevic – captain for the night in Power’s absence – brilliantly controlled a long through ball and sent Swan in. This time Swan’s shot was on target, but Cameron Dawson saved well.

Those missed chances were soon made to look costly with Hall scoring. And as Rotherham’s inexperienced backline got to grips with when to push out, United seized some level of control. City just looked a bit off it. Not having their usual zip on the ball.

Neil Byrne, Tom McIntyre and Ibou Touray seemed flustered. The central midfield of Tommy Leigh and Pattison second-best to Joe Powell and Daniel Gore. Rotherham continued a recent opposition trend of closing up the space for wing backs Josh Neufville and Tyreik Wright to roam in. And should we be slightly worried by Bobby Pointon’s recent form?  

Pointon did have a goal disallowed when Swan was offside, and Pattison was involved in a key incident on half time when he was hauled back by Jamal Baptiste when through on goal. It looked a clear red, but Baptiste got away with a yellow. Touray took the resultant free kick and forced Dawson into a decent save.

You hoped for a stronger City reaction after half time, but it was Rotherham who struck again through Martin Sherif – who was introduced at the break and made a real difference. A rampaging Powell run saw him play in Reece James behind Neufville, from which he crossed for Sherif to tap home.

When was the last time the Bantams came from two goals behind to earn something? The 3-2 victory over Walsall at the end of the 2023/24 season.

So it was a long way back, though the journey began just six minutes after Sherif struck. Swan did well to hold up a long ball and allow players to get forward. He fed the ball to Neufville, who sent over a cross that Sarcevic chested home. And with so much time to play – you felt like it set City up for a strong spell of dominance.

But weirdly that didn’t really happen. The storm never seemed to come, even after a triple sub midway through the half that saw City go 3-4-1-2, with Andy Cook and Stephen Humphrys up top, and Pointon moved to left wing back – where Graham Alexander would have hoped he’d see more of the ball. The other sub, Jensen Metcalfe, did hit a clever half volley just over. But when Cook played in Pattison and his tame shot was saved, it felt like the equaliser wasn’t ever coming.

This feeling was added to by how well Rotherham played and how effective their time-wasting efforts were in disrupting the momentum. And so when they charged forward into the box late on and two City players only succeeded in tackling each other, it felt like a metaphor for a night to forget.

Which is when the Bantams showed they don’t give up, equalising and saving a point. The goal came from a long punt by Neufville that revealed Rotherham had committed too many players forward. 20-year-old centre back Lenny Agbaire – signed in the summer from Celtic – let the ball bounce, Cook smelt blood and took it off him, before beating Joe Raffety and playing Pattison into space. Having just missed a sitter, you feared Pattison might struggle to take the chance. But he finished really well.  

In that latter stages City might have snatched it. But that would have been unfair on Rotherham, who defied their lowly position and wretched form. And given City spent so much of the night trailing, a draw definitely doesn’t seem like a terrible result. It keeps them top, though Stevenage and Lincoln can go above them if they win their weekend games.

Not City’s greatest night for sure. Not a moment likely to live long in the memory. But with adversity came answers. And that is very reassuring. No team can ever play well all the time. And though this performance won’t leave the rest of League One quaking, City showed they have teeth. And that could prove very telling in the months ahead.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2025/26, BCAFC, League One, Rotherham United