On a freezing cold, rainy evening in the usually freezing cold and wet West Yorkshire, Bradford City were held to an all too familiar 2-2 draw. This time it was the turn of MK Dons to spoil the potential promotion push.
The Dons took the lead before I had even managed to get in to the ground and take my seat. Only realising after 5 minutes that the scoreboard read 0-1, leading to a slightly aggressive swig of the Lucozade I bought on the way… however Tony McMahon stepped up to score the equalizer from the spot after Rory McArdle was dragged to the floor at a corner.
The away side took the lead once more as a cross shot from the left somehow evaded the backpedalling Colin Doyle, hitting both posts before ending up in the back of the net. This probably summed up City’s luck this season, having dropped 11 points in the 6 games following defeat in the Football League Trophy Quarter-finals. This has put a real downer on many a fan view of the club, however we must remember the fact we are now unbeaten at home in 12 months. Thanks largely to a fantastic headed goal from man of thie moment, Charlie Wyke.
City were the better of the two sides for the majority of the game, leaving the visitors to play mainly on the counter attack. They were incredibly quick to get the ball forward in to dangerous positions, however their quality in the final third meant city were able to keep them at bay most of the time.
Alex Gilliead really showed signs of promise, and it was his success on the flanks that begged the question: was Marshall really ready to be in the squad? If so, why wasn’t he utilised in the dying moments of the game? His pace and directness would have meant city were able to attack down either side, instead of relying on Meredith to join in the attacks down the left.
There’s absolutely no question about the quality and style of football on view this season, McCall has worked absolute wonders to maintain our standing in the league, while transforming the playing philosophy. However we do lack balance in the side, playing almost a lopsided 4-3-3 formation at times. With the ability in midfield and the differing qualities of Law, Vincelot and Cullen is there a genuine need for Clarke to be playing in the hole? Could Marshall and Gilliead provide genuine width with Wyke playing higher up the pitch? I think McCall has a few selection headaches for the next game, especially if Marshall is 100% fit for Saturdays visit of Peterborough. Marshall has been outstanding this season, while Gilliead has performed well in his two starts and deserves to keep his place.
McCall stated he wanted four points from these two home games, the pressure is most certainly on the team to deliver a vital win this weekend having made hard work of things yet again last night. City would be in the top two now if we hadn’t thrown away winning positions against Fleetwood and Bolton, added to last nights inability to find a winner. Despite several good opportunities to do so, Alex Jones came on and added another dimension to the attacking ranks, but couldn’t even buy a free kick from Darren Deadman. He made a fantastic decision to award City a penalty for the first goal,however after that he was the average league one referee, shocking. Stopping play for a soft injury to a MK Dons defender, then restarting play with a competitive drop ball on the half way line.
City really are a quality side this season, but lack the ability to grind out the results when needed. Anyone who knows me personally will tell you I am the number one Tony McMahon fan, however we do miss the defensive ability of Darby. Tony is the better player in my opinion, but Darby is the better defender. Meredith is a very, very good full back, but always has been better with a winger in front of him, rather than being used as an out and out wing back like he is at the moment. Another promising, positive performance, but another case of two points dropped. On to the next one…
