Bradford 3 - 0 Chesterfield - Match Report

League Two

Saturday 26th September 2009

After a sticky start to the season Stuart McCall's Bradford have embarked upon a decent run of form of late and a comfortable victory over Chesterfield at Valley Parade extended their unbeaten run to seven matches and lifted them to within two points of the top seven.

That they never hit top gear bodes well for the Bantams, who generally controlled this game from start to finish although they did have a scare early on when Wade Small almost found himself one on one with Simon Eastwood before referee Gary Sutton - who had an excellent game and often played the sensible advantage - halted play for an alleged trip on Luke O'Brien.

With Jack Lester benched as he recovered from a recent virus, Chesterfield lacked bite and Donal McDermott's left foot shot from an angle was horribly off target. Michael Flynn had shown him how it was done two minutes earlier when he capitalised on a moment of hesitation from a Spireites fullback down the left wing to cut back onto his right foot and curl a beautiful shot into the top-right hand corner to open the scoring in the 23rd minute.

Although they were the dominant side, City did have a few hairy moments and Simon Eastwood was called into action after half an hour with a good block after Jonathon Bateson had been beaten to the ball by Wade Small at the back post.

Another City man playing well was Scott Neilson and he enjoyed another good game on the right wing as he settles down into the side. His effort in the 34th minute - after cutting inside onto his left foot from around 25 yards - would have been a contender for goal of the month had Tommy Lee not pulled off a top drawer save to claw the ball out of the top corner.

However, Neilson did later manage to get his name onto the scoresheet, and at a crucial moment too. Chesterfield began a little better after the break but Derek Niven saw a close range shot blocked by Eastwood and instantly City launched a counter attack that saw Gareth Evans' shot parried into the path of Neilson for an easy tap in in the 55th minute.

Other half-chances for Chesterfield had come from their best player, Small, who had dragged a low shot wide of goal after escaping Williams, and also to Gregor Robertson, who curled a left-footed shot over the bar.

A City chance fell the way of James Hanson, who, with his back to goal, hooked a volley over the bar after a cross from Bateson, but a more clinical finish came courtesy of substitute Chris Brandon who rifled home from inside the area after Hanson had challenged Lee - his second goal off the bench against his former clubs this season.

Lester, so often a tormentor of City in the past, was starved of service after his introduction on the hour and Chesterfield's heads seemed to have dropped long by this point, and with Martin Gritton's low shot a routine catch for Eastwood it was the Bantams that looked more likely to add to their tally in the closing minutes.

Neilson somehow managed to hit the post with the goal at his mercy after Lee had become stranded, and substitute Michael Boulding also found himself in a decent position before waiting for the ball to roll across him and allowing Lee in to intercept before he had managed to crack a shot away.

Nevertheless, those misses proved irrelevant as City collected a well deserved three points and left the feeling that they had much more to offer in the months to come.

BCTID MOM - Luke O'Brien continued his good run of form with another fine attacking performance on the left and Michael Flynn had another good game in the middle of the field and has really bedded into the side well now and is contributing plenty offensively. My gut instinct walking away from the ground was that Simon Eastwood was my man of the match based upon his two fine saves that kept his side ahead, but on reflection I think Scott Neilson was probably the star man for City. He's got a wicked shot on him, looks much classier than his predecessor when in possession and is proving to be a real find by Stuart McCall.

Bradford 1 - 1 Burton Albion - Match Report

League Two

Saturday 12th September 2009

Burton have adapted well to life in League Two following promotion from the Conference last term, and ground out a 1-1 draw from Valley Parade this afternoon.

In the first half Bradford just about shaded matters, but their inability to take their chances meant they were punished when Paul Boertien curled in a late equaliser for the Staffordshire side to deny City five wins on the bounce.

In the opening stages it was Gareth Evans and Scott Neilson that created City's best chances, with the duo combining to tee Neilson up for a shot inside the first ten minutes, but his effort was weak.

This was another livewire performance from Evans and it was the former Macclesfield man that opened the scoring after a defensive mix up between Burton skipper Guy Branston and a fellow defender, rolling home into an empty net in the 24th minute after the ball had squirmed loose inside the area.

With twenty minutes of the half remaining, Evans this time turned provider, latching onto a pass down the left from Flynn, and crossing to the back post where Neilson's ambitious volley sailed over.

For the visitors, John McGrath was at the heart of Burton's best moves. After Greg Pearson had drawn in his marker with his back to goal inside the area, a sideways flick set up McGrath, but a superb save from City stopper Simon Eastwood denied him his moment of glory.

McGrath then curled a free-kick narrowly wide of the top left-hand corner but Burton boss Paul Peschisolido will be cursing Lee Bullock, who threw his body on the line fior Bradford and clattered into the post to deny Pearson a simple tap in after Eastwood had again produced a fine save from close range after Zesh Rehman's mistake inside the box.

In first half injury time McGrath sold a dummy to the Bradford defence that enabled him to crack a shot away on the edge of the area, but it was angled horribly wrong and of no danger to Eastwood.

The second half was less exciting than the first and one of City's best chances came when Albion 'keeper Artur Krysiak punched the ball only as far as Michael Flynn and with his second attempt the City midfielder, who has been in fine goalscoring mood with two goals in his last two, lifted the ball narrowly wide of the left hand post with the keeper stranded.

However, City's best chance of doubling their advantage came when they broke rapidly and outnumbered Burton three on two at the back. Neilson was in plenty of space down the right but instead of playing in his team-mate Evans opted for a chip over the 'keeper, which sailed over the bar and wasted the opportunity.

That miss proved crucial for McCall's side though, as Burton worked their way into a nice position inside the City box and Boertien burst into the area before curling into the top corner from a Richard Walker lay-off to draw his side level with seven minutes remaining.

McCall threw on Michael Boulding and City went with a three-pronged attack in an attempt to salvage the win, but they failed to muster any other chances of note and a point, given their inability to really shake off Burton all game, seems a fair result on reflection.

BCTID MOM - There were good performances from Steve Williams, Michael Flynn, Chris Brandon and Gareth Evans but this was a pleasing performance from Simon Eastwood and the two saves he pulled off in the first half will do his confidence the world of good after many, myself included, questioned his place in the team in weeks gone by.