| Blackpool 1 |
| Fletcher 56 |
| Bradford City 2 |
| Baldwin 25, Swan 67 |
By Adam Raj
Bradford City responded in the exact same fashion as has followed their previous three league defeats. By winning. Suffering a bump but getting back up on the horse again. It’s a resilient group, if nothing else. And in a season where aims and expectations have almost certainly changed from August, this victory was a really important one.
Lincoln City’s lunchtime victory over Peterborough United put them five points ahead of City by 3pm (albeit City having two games in hand) and psychologically that would’ve presented a significant gap. Come 5pm and the gap is back down to two with a game in hand and the Imps still to play in the coming weeks.
In terms of performance, it is still not quite the free flowing attacking performances of early season, but this was a sure step in the right direction.
Helping that, no doubt, was a return to a back three with players who are mobile and comfortable in possession. The inquest of the starting XI at Mansfield of course focused on a 3rd/4th/5th choice centre half combination which undoubtedly played a significant part in the result. Before talking about the defensive abilities of Joe Wright, Ciaran Kelly and Neill Byrne, it is fairly well established that none of them possess any sort of technical ability to assist City’s distribution from the back. So comes the hoof, the balls that end up on the street outside and a little bit more aimless hoof.
In contrast, today’s trio of Aden Baldwin, Curtis Tilt and Ibou Touray all possess a calmness in possession and a technical ability to keep hold of the ball. City looked miles better for it. A marauding run from Tilt mid way through the second half was testimony enough. A League Two quality back line on Thursday and a League One quality back line today. The difference in quality is significant.
As well as the back three, Josh Neufville was reinstated into the side and looked more like his old self, often getting the better of former Bantam Scott Banks who was curiously selected at left back.
City’s intensity was clear from the off here. Quick throws, high press, quick free kicks and a determination to put the New Year’s Day defeat behind them.
On 25 minutes, City took a deserved lead. A short corner routine that went awry found its way to Neufville who’s hooked ball forward was nodded on by Will Swan. Blackpool striker and Bradford lad Ashley Fletcher then claimed the assist as his flick found its way to Baldwin. The centre half struck a fantastic half volley into the roof of the net, becoming City’s first goal scorer of 2026, with his first goal for the club.
And he very nearly had his second minutes later as his bullet header flew just over the crossbar from Tyreik Wright’s corner.
Blackpool did nothing to threaten a goal down the other end and looked a side bereft of ideas. Danny Imray’s wind assisted cross-shot nearly caught out Sam Walker as it hit his post but thankfully Baldwin was on hand to scramble it away. City weren’t creating bucket loads of chances, but they were quietly dominant and in complete control.
And that pattern continued after the break, with Blackpool spending slightly more time in the City half, but the Bantams not looking troubled in any way and in turn finding lots of space on the counter but wasting those opportunities – Calum Kavanagh being the main culprit. Kavanagh’s positioning to get himself into space and receive the ball on the counter was good, but his decision making in the final third was particularly bad. He continues to look like a player that City have outgrown.
Just over an hour on the clock and rather out of the blue, the hosts levelled. Brad Lyons sent a long ball forward and Fletcher found himself in between Baldwin and Tilt, with a free run at Walker. The striker made no mistake as he prodded it into the near post and City had been made to pay the price for those earlier missed opportunities.
Graham Alexander responded by hooking Kavanagh and handing new signing Louie Sibley his first minutes in a Bantams shirt. Minutes later, Antoni Sarcevic caused chaos from Touray’s ball forward, flicked it to Swan whose skipped past one defender before drilling the ball home from just outside the area.
This was a good performance from Swan. His levels had dropped after a spectacular opening month where he was in red hot form but now found himself back as second choice striker behind Stephen Humphrys. Swan’s goal was excellent, but his energy, pressing and hold up play was also very good and near the levels he was showing at the start of the season. His challenge now is to maintain these levels.
City managed to see out the remainder of the game without any fuss. Blackpool had the ball in the back of the net in stoppage time but we’re penalised for a high foot on Wright in the build up. If there was a slight criticism, City sat back invited pressure on themselves in the final ten minutes. Against a better team, that could’ve been costly, but Blackpool were as impotent as you could hope for.
Nine points from the available 12 over the Christmas Period is a really positive return. City have managed to keep in touch with the top two whilst opening up a seven point gap on Huddersfield in fourth. City move onto a home game against Rotherham next weekend before a tough run of games that will really test their credentials. The Bantams need to build on this win at Valley Parade and hope to go into that run with some positive momentum.
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Thanks for a great write up Adam. Reflected what I heard on Bantams TV (audio) with added clarity.
Bythe end of Jan (given games to play) we should have a good idea of promotion vs play off contenders.
I’ve argued we are not ready for the next level but that’s my head. . . My heart (having been league 4 to 1st & back to league 4/2) sez ‘Cmon City – get in’
CTID
Thanks for that Adam. You and the other 2099 Bantam fans must have been frozen stiff, and you got what we wanted.
Having supported City for 77 years, I am a pessimist and I feared Mansfield would be the beginning of a slide.
That is why I am very excited tonight. They were superb in my opinion. All of them, but Sarcevic, Tilt and Swan really stood out. Neufville impressed. Don’t be too hard on Kavanagh, he gives his all, but I fear at this level he is a nearly man.
Sibley impressed, as did the whole team and Alexander.
To repeat, I am excited.
City were good value for this win. Not mind blowingly amazing but wholesale better than the Mansfield outing. The back three were the difference with Baldwin & Tilt standing out. The ball over the top for Blackpool’s equaliser was good but we were heavily committed up front and got caught out so hopefully that has been picked up for future games.
Overall, a good hardworking response from City as we’re now becoming accustomed to after a defeat. The 7 point gap to fourth is nice to have and we may need that with the fixtures coming up but at some point we’re going to have to admit we’re right in the mix for automatic promotion and lessen the chat regarding playoffs. Let’s dream big, especially after we see how January goes! We’ve got such a good chance at the halfway point. C’mon City let’s get to the Championship!!
Am I right in thinking that the great Curtis Tilt is yet to play on the losing side this season? What a battler he is. I always feel safer when he’s playing. If I’m sadly to lose one hero, in Cook, I feel another coming on.
Tilt played in defeat at Doncaster on 6 September
With several teams well positioned for a promotion push, 12 points from Cardiff in 1st to Stockport in 6th (although Stevenage on 37 pts have got 2-3 games on the teams above), I feel who gets the top 2 places will be significantly determined by this January window.
This was the perfect hangover cure after Mansfield, gives us renewed optimism that Mansfield was a bad day at the office and we can now move on to back to back home games with confidence. If we can beat Rotherham then it’ll set-up a massive game against Cardiff, what an atmosphere that will be!
On a side note, I have been disappointed to see the level of negativity given to Kavanagh and Byrne, and to a lesser extent Kelly, online, all these lads played a significant part in us getting promoted last year. We are all welcome to give our opinions and criticise any player in our squad, but it does feel like people have short memories. These lads have got us to where we are, so we should at least show appreciation to them when they leave. I do agree that Byrne and Kavanagh need to move on for us to improve upon them; I do believe Kelly is still good enough to rotate at CB and give us a different option for more physical games. It shows how we’ve progressed that we are in a position to say get rid of so many players.
I’m not here to say that people can’t criticise or be negative to anyone in our squad, I certainly believe they should be allowed to do that. I just think we need to remember that they’ve got us to where we are and were part of that team last year.
Agree, some criticism of Kav is largely unfair
He is limited in that he is only really suited to playing off a target man (Cook), similar to Hanson/Wells.
On the few occasions he’s been put through on goal, he hasn’t let anyone down and can finish.
He did this role in the early part of last season. Cook’s injury meant Kav from the new year had to try and fulfil Cook’s role, that at times he did admirably.
This season he’s had injury and more recently has had to try adapt his game to play on the left of a three prong attack.
Clearly not his game, however still gives his all.
He may have to move on, not because he’s a poor player, however because his strengths doesn’t suit the way GA’s teams play.
Criticism should be in context
Agreed, he works hard and looked a lot better centrally last year. Also agree, he has been a decent finisher the few times we’ve seen him go through 1-on-1 (e.g. Crewe at home last year, Sutton at home in Feb 24).
This is the lad who played a major part in us winning 10 home league matches in a row and was our main striker for half a season, which saw us get promoted. Some people may say this was despite of Kavanagh rather than because of him, but I would push back, he scored several crucial goals (Swindon (H), Morecambe (H) and Carlisle (A) and should have been remembered for a winning, or at least crucial point securing, hattrick at Swindon.
I generally agree with the core point of people criticising him, that ideally we can move him on and hopefully get an improvement, but, think the way people are speaking about him is distasteful. I think a loan to league 2 would suit him well, although, he’s only got 6 months left and I’d like to get a fee for him.
Huge opportunity for promotion to the Championship – let’s see what our squad looks like by the end of the January window…