Written by Jason McKeown (images by John Dewhirst)

Michael Duff walked into a shadow. He’s inherited a hugely successful Bradford City side, tasked with not messing up what already worked while somehow making it his own. Perhaps this was the day when one era finally gave way to another.

When Antoni Sarcevic blasted home a late penalty to put the Bantams in front, the page finally began to turn. And when Will Swan made it 2-0 soon after, some distance between Graham Alexander’s City and Duff’s began to appear. The manager had made subtle but important tweaks, finding solutions to overcome Stevenage’s stubborn resistance that he could rightly take credit for. As Valley Parade erupted with joy, City started to look a little less like the side Duff inherited and a little more like the side he intends to build.

It was a really good day for Duff. The game hadn’t quite panned out as many expected, but the problem facing the new manager early in the second half was the one we’d all feared. City had plenty of the ball but lacked the wit and sharpness to get past Stevenage’s spoiling tactics. A week after the dour stalemate with Leyton Orient, a repeat of that unsatisfying outcome loomed large.

Last week, Duff followed the continuity path too closely and failed to change the pattern. This time, faced with a very similar problem, his changes had a massive impact.

And the fact Stephen Humphrys was the chief source of inspiration was telling. The guy who Graham Alexander had seemingly placed on the naughty step was brought in from the cold to enjoy his first league minutes of the season. Humphrys played a big part in both goals. It’s highly unlikely Alexander would have turned to the City number 11 had he still been in charge. So we can absolutely chalk this successful tweak to Duff.

As we can with all the changes. For much of this game, City’s attacking approach was achingly predictable. They enjoyed plenty of possession in wide areas and flung lots of crosses into the box, but it was all low-percentage stuff. The deliveries didn’t always come from the best positions and, with too few bodies attacking them, it was meat and drink to Stevenage’s physically strong backline. Captain Carl Pierganni was especially outstanding, winning everything in the air.

It was all too similar to last week’s fruitless approach. Kayden Jackson, Adam Phillips, Bobby Pointon and Ibou Touray had plenty of possession, but their haste to send balls into the box too often limited what City could create. Stevenage were allowing them possession in precisely the areas where it could hurt them least.

It’s been the attacking story of City’s season, stretching back through Alexander’s tenure. And often it has worked, with the Bantams carving out plenty of 1-0 successes. Sometimes a chance goes in, like Jackson’s cross for Pointon to score at Luton. Sometimes they don’t, like Jackson’s cross for Phillips last week.

City might easily have carved out another narrow victory playing this way, but ultimately it’s restrictive. They need better link-up play. More patience to work the ball into dangerous positions before sending it into the area. Josh Neufville was a huge, huge miss here.

It’s clear Duff came to the same conclusion. And that’s where his substitutes changed the game. Corey O’Keeffe came on for Jackson in the 57th minute and was so much more effective. O’Keeffe probably lacks the quality of final ball compared to Jackson – who has a string of impressive assists this season – but was more willing to run with the ball and work an opening, rather than hurriedly send it over. As O’Keeffe stretched the play, the evenly balanced encounter began to tip in City’s favour.

O’Keeffe was brought on at the same time as Nick Powell, who also significantly improved City. He oozed quality and offered a physical presence that Jake Beesley, the man he replaced, had struggled to provide. Whether by accident or design, Beesley’s tendency to remain rigidly central isn’t giving City enough. Pointon and Phillips need someone to link up with when they go inside, and Beesley does not roam into spaces where he can be found. The fact Beesley only touched the ball 11 times all afternoon is galling.

Powell made himself a nuisance. An off-the-ball clash with Pierganni had him even more fired up, and he held up the ball much more effectively to give City a base camp to get bodies forward. If only he could play 90 minutes each week…though if he could, there’s no way he’d be playing at this level.

As O’Keeffe and Powell tipped the momentum, the later introduction of Swan and Humphrys for Phillips and Pointon gave City even greater impetus. There was now much more close passing, more attacking in numbers and fewer isolated forward moves. And eventually it came with rewards.

Fittingly the subs were hugely involved in the breakthrough moment. Humphrys and Swan linked up well, setting up Powell in the box. He was clipped by Stevenage’s somewhat erratic goalkeeper Tommy Setford. A penalty was the only outcome, which Sarcevic duly dispatched. The goal came in the 79th minute and represented the first shot on target of the Duff era. A moment worth waiting for, you might say.

Not long after a brilliant raking pass from Aden Baldwin allowed Humphrys to charge past Ben Broggio. He ran towards the box and sent a low cross over that Setford spilled, and Swan was sharp enough to latch onto the loose ball and smack it home.

It had been some battle to get into such a good position, but the satisfaction of grinding out three points was only equalled by the way Duff’s fingerprints could be seen all over the manner in which they did it. Perhaps that is ultimately where a new manager first becomes visible. Not in the inherited starting XI, but in what he does when it isn’t working. For the first time, this properly felt like his victory.

On the balance of play, it was the right outcome. Stevenage did spring a surprise by starting really positively. Dan Kemp – who got the winner in this fixture last season – almost netted inside 20 seconds when his looping volley was tipped over by Jon McCracken. Former City loanee Oli Sanderson headed over soon after, following a break in play when Callum Connolly had gone down with a worrying-looking head injury.

Connolly was able to continue and played well in front of the back three, who themselves were characteristically flawless. As the game settled and City began to find their rhythm, attention soon turned to the struggles of those up top. Phillips’ form has been much debated this week with even Duff weighing in with his view. This was not the afternoon where he answered those critics, hitting an early chance into Pointon, who was lying on the floor, when he might have done better. Pointon himself couldn’t quite convert a back-post volley when Jackson headed the ball his way.

It wasn’t the dour game that we’d all dreaded, but it was still stop-start in places. The Stevenage dark arts were back. Time wasting and niggling fouls. Their 4-4-1-1 saw City’s midfield squeezed of space. Like Leyton Orient a week ago they were happy to let the Bantams have the ball in the wide areas, gambling correctly that City would fail to make the most of the space here and that they’d win most headers into their box. It was all working well for Alex Revell, until the subs entered the fray.

If Humphrys, Swan, O’Keeffe and Powell take the plaudits, there will be some questions and doubts about the players who made way for them. Phillips has probably reached the point where he needs a reset rest. Pointon’s form this season remains a slight concern. He isn’t playing badly – we just know he can play a lot better. He showed his ceiling last season, and so far this time around he’s yet to hit those same heights.

And what of Beesley? One goal from 10 league starts isn’t great, but it’s starting to go deeper than that. He isn’t getting great service but it’s concerning how much opposition defenders are dominating him physically. For sure, the current system is doing him no favours.

Given Powell can’t start games, there’s not much that can be done with Beesley other than keep starting him. And the role he plays in wearing down defenders for an hour does have its value in setting the stage for Powell to wreak havoc. There are some strange similarities to the Andy Cook/Vadaine Oliver arrangement of 2022/23, only the other way around. Then, Oliver wasn’t as effective as we’d like him to have been, but his role coming on to give Cook a breather was hugely important. If nothing else, Beesley is a valuable warm-up act for Powell.

It will be interesting to see if Duff can adjust things to get more out of Beesley. That may start at Burton on Tuesday with the forward line he picks. Swan, surely, will get the nod ahead of Phillips. Humphrys may play ahead of Pointon too. So far, Beesley and Humphrys have not shared any game time. If their paths were to finally cross on the pitch, they might prove useful foils for each other.

One to look out for. But whatever Duff decides, he should do so feeling emboldened by the part he played in City climbing back to the top of League One. He’s rightly been respectful of the work his friend Alexander left behind. As the continuity candidate, nobody wanted to see Duff rip everything up and start again. But Bradford City don’t need a Graham Alexander tribute act. They need a manager, and here they absolutely had one.

As Duff celebrated in West Yorkshire, Alexander himself was grimacing in North Wales. Preston lost for the third successive time under his watch, leaving him facing a mountain of problems that leave them bottom of the Championship – and just one place in the pyramid above the Bantams.

Alexander might have some early regrets about his career choice, or maybe he’s confident it will all work out. But as he piles his energy into rescuing Preston North End, his shadow over Valley Parade is beginning to disappear.

And as it does, Michael Duff’s Bradford City begins to emerge.

Categories: Match Reviews

Tags: 2026/27, BCAFC, League One, Stevenage