Match Reports: Bradford United 04/11/2023
County Cup – 2nd Round
Horsforth St Magarets 1-1 Bradford United 1sts (4-5 Pens)
After a poor display last week today was all about reactions & a reaction is what we got. Today we saw the real Bradford United. Every single man played his role including the 2 on the bench. Hard work and graft for their team mates and the badge.
The game itself was a game of 2 halves. Bradford dominated in first half; second half was HSM. Bradford started on the front foot; Mehmet got us going with a class finish. Cruising on another day we score more than 1, instead a lapse of concentration in defence meant we were pegged back just before the interval. 1-1 HT.
The second half was another test of character; under the cosh for majority but held out whilst maintaining an attacking presence on the break. In fairness it was the Fabio show as he some fantastic saves to keep us in this game atoning for his first half error. 1-1 FT. Penalties! Fabio was once again the hero as he saved HSM’s first pen. Our boys making no mistake to send us through into the last 32.
Mehmet ⚽️
Kas 🌟
📣 Special Mention – EVERYONE!! 13 men, 2 coaches against a full army of HSM support & bench.
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County Cup – 2nd Round
Bradford United U23s 6 – 3 Middleton Park
2 changes made (Ricardo and Micheal) to the line up from last game as we looked to make it 4 wins on the bounce.
We wanted to get at them from the get go and we found our rhythm straight away stringing some fantastic passes through the lines. As usual, we had a few half chances but couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net but we knew it was going to come.
Our first goal came from Yaseen at the back post slotting home expertly after some scintillating combinations from back to front. As the saying goes “you are at your most vulnerable after you score” and that is exactly what happened from the restart on 2 separate occasions as Middleton Park made it 2-1 in quick succession. This was an important part of the game and It was crucial we stood up and reacted in a positive way to the opposition scoring 2 goals to take the lead. We kept playing our way and being confident on the ball which resulted in us winning a corner. Muj drove a low corner which some how managed to get through Middleton’s defence and found its way to Greeny who made no mistake smashing it home from close range to make it 2-2.
We grew in confidence and kept pushing for the lead. The lead came through yaseen once again playing the ball out wide to maheen followed by a run into the box. Maheen then rolled the ball into yaseen’s path who showed some good feet to find some space and slot home to make it 3-2.
Half time: 3-2
Middleton started the second half on the front foot as we struggled to continue our dominance from the first half. After some sloppy play from us losing the ball, then not counter pressing effectively and then not dealing the cross, they scored their third goal to make it 3-3 . It was the wake up call we needed and deserved after switching off. Some changes were made to give us some fresh legs as the boys had worked their socks off all game. The boys adapted well to their new roles and pushed them back giving us more space all over the pitch.
After a few further shaky minutes, we got back to dominating the game with occasionally riding our luck. We got the lead through Greeny clipping a TRENT esque ball from the right inside channel, to the back post with emanuel finishing left foot on the volley. Great finish!
Minutes later, after some good work from Mazn playing a clever ball through to Micheal. Micheal went round the keeper and would have scored if it wasn’t for a great save from their left back. No hand ball according to the referee. Absolute madness of a decision.
From here on, only one team looked like adding to the score line. We got a further 2 goals. First one through Greeny with a monster of a header at the back post. Not forgetting the brilliant short corner routine from muj (musiala) and yaseen (Joao Felix) and Mazn blocking off both centre backs to clear the path for Greeny. We kept up the high tempo and pushed for further goals. Last 5 minutes the opposition defended, desperately throwing their bodies on the line but it didn’t stop us scoring our sixth goal. Mo finishing well in the box to seal the deal👊🏼
All in all, a well deserved win 👏
Yaseen ⚽️⚽️
Greeny ⚽️⚽️
Emanuel ⚽️
Mo ⚽️
YASEEN🌟
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YAL Division 4
Bradford United U21s 1-5 Nostell Miners
Today it was all about trying to get back into the form displayed in the early weeks of the season.
The lads started the game well and tried to control the tempo of the game bringing the ball out from the back and building combinations into the final third however a defensive error lead to Nostell taking an early lead 1-0. The lads then seen themselves two behind again with another error at the back and Nostell punished us and made it 2-0. We then got hit on the break but not closing the man early and allowing to run through so freely and then the Nostell forward latched onto the parry from the keeper making it 3-0. The lads didn’t give up and tried to pick themselves up but again another error and another goal 4-0 Nostell.
HT 4-0
The half time team talk was to show some pride and to pick this up as it was not good enough at all as we are levels above this.
A steady start to the half and a lot of desire was shown to control the game however again an error from two defenders left the run of the midfielder being called onside who made it 5-0 with ease and put the game surely out of sight. We pulled one back through Sulaiq who finished from a great ball from Mustafa. 5-1. We then started to apply more pressure and played some really good combinations from the midfield into the final third however it simply wasn’t good enough and it was too late to try and get something out of the game.
Sulaiq ⚽️
Sahil 🌟
