Barnsley 2O’Connell 50, Farrell 90+6Bradford City 2Powell 73, Roberts 82 (OG)
By Jason McKeown
They’re certainly making this more dramatic than it needs to be. Facing a troublesome defeat, Bradford City suddenly roared to life, scored twice late on to set up a huge win, then threw two points away by conceding deep into stoppage time. It’s a blow to their play-off hopes, but it needn’t prove pivotal. With games running out and the margins for error wafer-thin for those chasing them, one more Bantams’ win all but seals it.
The problem is that we’ve been saying “one more Bantams win” for a couple of weeks now. This was another opportunity to virtually book their play-off place, and again it wasn’t taken.
And, wow, was this an opportunity.
Barnsley were beleaguered – announcing two hours before kick off that their manager, Conor Hourihane, will leave at the end of the season. Barnsley were bruised – top scorer and perennial thorn in the City side, David McGoldrick, was injured. And above all else Barnsley were backed into a corner. The game kicked off at 12,30pm, but by 12.38pm they were down to 10 men.
That’s because Vimal Yoganathan walked early doors for a reckless challenge on Ibou Touray after the City wing-back latched onto a loose ball. The youthful Welsh midfielder needlessly dived in and illegally halted the attack. The referee, Charles Breakspear, didn’t hesitate in brandishing the red card. With 82 minutes to play against 10 men, City could hardly have wished for a more favourable set-up.
Yet they couldn’t make the most of it.
If anything, the red card caused more problems for the visitors than the hosts. It weirdly aided Barnsley. The news of Hourihane serving his notice might have created an uncomfortable atmosphere at Oakwell, but the early dismissal fuelled a siege mentality among the home support.
The anxiety, in turn, seemed to transfer onto City. They fell into the classic traps when playing against 10 men – trying too hard to force the issue, moving the ball forward with unnecessary urgency and sacrificing quality. What was needed was patience and control. Instead, they rushed, heaped pressure on themselves, and soon began to wilt under it.
That suited Barnsley just fine. They revelled in wearing the cloak of underdogs. They sat in a low block 4-4-1 formation and countered with real menace when turnovers came. The endless long balls sent towards City’s front three were all too easy to defend. And though – just like Stevenage – Barnsley left space in wide areas that encouraged wing backs Toray and Josh Neufville to charge forward. Just like Stevenage, Barnsley had the physical excellence at the back to deal with the flurry of crosses.
It meant City were pretty predictable and easy to contain – especially without their two chief sources of inspiration. Bobby Pointon was of course missing here, with Graham Alexander disclosing post-match that the lad from Low Moor will miss the next fortnight, possibly even the rest of the season. Antoni Sarcevic was on the bench, probably rested in view of two huge home games coming up. Without the pair, City lacked the intelligence between the lines. Their attack became static.
Here’s the problem: a front three of Stephen Humphrys, Kayden Jackson and Will Swan has pace and threat, but offered too little in build-up play. All three were too high up the pitch. The gaps between midfield and attack were too big, forcing City into low-percentage long balls and speculative moments.
It led to a first half where City were toothless despite their man advantage. Jenson Metcalfe went close with a long-range effort, but they didn’t register a shot on target until the 47th minute. This, of course, against 10-men.
And then Barnsley scored.
Marc Roberts’ long throw caused chaos, and Eoghan O’Connell’s glancing header drifted into the net. There could be no real complaints. The warning signs had been there throughout. City were too careless to heed them.
They’d made uncharacteristic mistakes at the back all afternoon. Like when Curtis Tilt inexplicably passed the ball straight to lone striker Tom Bradshaw, to set up an attack where Barnsley forced a corner. Or when a high ball into the City box was surely Sam Walker’s to claim, but Tilt booted it behind for a corner. Or when Touray produced a foul throw, which gave Roberts another long throw opportunity. Matt Pennington and Aden Baldwin were also guilty of poor distribution. Max Power and Metcalfe competed well in the middle but were occasionally caught out.
It was a City team playing below their usual standards, not really handling the occasion. And when O’Connell put Barnsley ahead, they were in something of a sticky situation. Walker made one excellent save to prevent the Tykes going further ahead. At the other end Swan missed a sitter and a Touray cross shot that was begging to be tapped home. The brightest spark was Neufville, who had a storming second half where he had the measure of half time substitute Mael de Gevingey. But it was crumbs of comfort.
The sense of frustration was palpable. City were backed by a magnificent 5,000 turnout, but early enthusiasm faded to silence before groans and even boos. News was coming through that Huddersfield were 3-1 up at Bolton. Everyone else would be playing at 3pm. The job wasn’t done yet, and losing in these circumstances would seriously hurt morale.
Then it changed.
The catalyst was a quadruple sub. Off when Jackson (who looked rusty) Swan (who flattered to deceive), Metcalfe (still short of his best form) and Pennington. On came Nick Powell, Sarcevic, George Lapslie and Harrison Ashby. Alexander went 4-1-4-1, with Power operating behind the dual number 10s of Sarcevic and Lapslie, Neufville pushed up to right wing, and Humphrys (who started left forward and swapped with Jackson to be central at half time) on the left.
The impact was immediate. It gave City greater attacking balance, and the closeness on the pitch of the forward players allowed fluid moves to develop. From one such attack, Humphrys delivered a delightful cross and Powell powered home his first goal for the Bantams. It’s an unexpected bonus that Powell has returned from injury so strongly, and he is having an increasing influence over the run-in.
The best thing about going level was City’s determination to push on. They didn’t use the equaliser as a chance to backslap each other. Powell celebrated briefly, but the ball was quickly retrieved from the net and the team were back in position for the restart almost immediately.
They kept attacking with purpose, and eight minutes after equalising they went 2-1 ahead. Touray whipped in a low cross that tempted Roberts into a clearance, only for the defender to divert it into his own net.
The limbs were epic. The collective jumping and embracing felt like the moment City had finally taken a decisive step towards the play-offs. And as we serenaded the team with songs about going to Wembley and the minutes ticked by, perhaps we didn’t fully register that City’s standards were beginning to slip again. Or that a Barnsley team surely beaten had, in fact, one final sting in the tail.
Because deep, deep, deep into stoppage time – 90+6 of all minutes – Barnsley equalised. Patrick Kelly sent a ball behind a napping Ashby to Rhys Cleary, and the guy who scored that wondergoal at Valley Parade in October crossed for Leo Farrell to beat Tilt and fire home. Farell had only been on the pitch for seven minutes.
Fair play to them, Barnsley absolutely deserved the point for their spirited performance. They might even argue they could have won it. At 1-1 they broke with real intent and Cleary appeared to be hauled down by Ashby in the box. But rather than point to the spot, Breakspear booked the Barnsley winger for diving. Hmmm.
As for City, they can have few complaints. They didn’t take advantage of the early gift of the Barnsley red card and were sloppy for large spells, not least in those final few minutes where their characteristic game-management went missing.
It is a concern that they have not completed a full 90-minute performance since the Port Vale win in early March. It is a concern how exposed they look on the left side without the injured Tyreik Wright and Bobby Pointon, and a concern that neither may return before the end of the season. It is also a concern that there is no obvious replacement for that wide-left role. Humphrys is the closest option, but his uneven display here underlined why Alexander does not fully trust him there. He has moments of quality, but does not link play with the same intelligence as Pointon.
But for all the concern, they are still just about there.
As we absorbed the pain of 90+6, Huddersfield were hit at 90+11 – when 10-man Bolton snatched a draw that damages their top-six hopes. And in the 3pms, Stockport had their own 90+6, with a goalkeeper equalising against them. Stevenage endured a 90+1, denying them a famous win over champions-elect Lincoln. Luton only drew.
The biggest worry is Plymouth’s 3-1 win over AFC Wimbledon. It narrows City’s cushion from eight points to six, with Argyle coming to Valley Parade on Tuesday. An away win would cut the gap to three and crank up the pressure ahead of the final home game against third-placed Bolton. Plymouth and Luton can still overtake City.
So there is still work to do. Still a bit more brilliance needed. With the music close to stopping, it would take a remarkable set of results for City to miss out from here. But when they’re making afternoons like this more dramatic than necessary, we should not underestimate the Bantams’ tradition of doing things the hard way.
‹ Bradford City play-off watch: the run-in, the numbers, and the nerves
Categories: Match Reviews
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