Bradford City (H) - League 2 - 1st January 2025
As the relentless passing of time marches on, and with the brown noise of the Hootenanny still farting in my ears, we have reached the year of our Lord, son of Cowps, 2025. Dong, Dong, Dong, Big Ben Jackson is available for selection in defence.
Some things never change; I'm still carrying the cold I picked up at the Fleetwood game. I'd seek medical attention from the treatment room, but the queue is already longer than the six-toed sock sale at Carlisle market.
There's been plenty of debate going into this one, mainly about the weather. After referee Neild failed to bounce his ball last season and postponed the game 15 minutes before kick-off, the yellow weather warnings are flying about like Kevin Proctor's card collection, nerves on edge. Even more than usual, forum fans. As it turns out, it was all a bit Michael Fish-y as there's merely a slight breeze and the odd shower. And the Barrow fans I overheard saying it was cold are obviously brand new. The new drainage has worked a treat and is vying with the boiler in the best investment stakes.
Holker Street is plumping up nicely, not quite stuffed neck to arsehole, but a good-sized goose. Given our recent form, it looks a decent attendance, bolstered by good numbers from Bradford. And a reasonable atmosphere, with both sets of fans hanging onto the Christmas spirit by exchanging carols prior to kick-off.
The teams take to the field and I'm surprised to see Wyll Stanway isn't starting up front. Sure I read it somewhere. Although the team is looking as stretched as my t-shirt over a Christmas belly. No Campbell, no Spence - a miss for any team in the league. With only one fit centre-back, it feels like we're going to have our work cut out.
We start the game brightly enough, getting the ball into wide areas, but without really creating anything of note. On 6 minutes we get a bit of luck as Andy Cook drops to the ground with an unidentified football injury. There's obviously a sympathetic response from the Holker Street End, as Cook hobbles off having not been on the pitch long enough to get a player rating. He doesn't have the best record against us, but I'd still rather have him in the Everlast Stand tent pissing out.
We level up the injuries on 14 as reserve goalkeeper Rory Feely appears to pull a hamstring. On comes Eccleston and a change of shape. Unfortunately, we all seem to be playing a different shape from one another and we're getting stretched all over the pitch. The inevitable happens on 23 minutes when the excellent Lewis Richards cracks an unstoppable shot home from 6 yards.
This shakes us into life a bit, by which I mean Bradford continue to press for a second. Smallwood is having a great game in midfield and Richards is tearing us apart down the left. Step forward, one Andrew Dallas. With the game running away from us, a quick break down the right sees Mahoney find Dallas in the area; he beats his man and is brought down for a clear penalty. Up steps the man himself to convert from the spot, with unconfirmed reports of a Bradford fan losing his teeth in disgust. Footage of that would have got you two hundred and fifty quid off Jeremy Beadle in the 80s. Alas, it's just 20 seconds of fame on the You’ve Been Framed for the Whoop generation, TikTok app THESE DAYS.
We go into the half-time break at an unlikely one-all. I'll take that.
We get off to a fast start second half. We've finally adapted to the new enforced shape and are putting some pressure on the Bradford goal. It may be a makeshift side but we're playing well. Jackson sees a long-range free kick spilled by the keeper, but the loose ball can't be converted by either Dallas or Mahoney.
A draw is looking the likely outcome until the 78th minute, when a fast break from Barrow sees Elliott Newby slip a beautifully weighted pass through the Bradford defence, releasing everybody's favourite Barrow player Emile Acquah, who smashes the ball through Walker's legs for the winner. *This is Barrow. It's two in two for Acquah at home, and he's looking more like the player we all thought he might be. Strong, energetic and confident. Long may it continue.
As the above asterisk teases, this is Barrow, and the changing of the kitchen wall calendar (I've got one with pictures of my dogs on, what about you?) hasn't meant a change in self-sabotage. Fortunately, a floodlight obscured my view of the equaliser, and I haven't brought myself to watch the highlights yet (you don't get quality journalism like this in the Times). Suffice to say I heard the goal in the form of the Popular Side. You've probably seen it anyway.
Let's make our New Year's Resolution to cut out the mistakes.
In summary: a draw, that's OK.
Comments