Last Saturday afternoon saw us secure our League One play-off position with our visit to mid-table side Southend United. Backed by another huge away following, as many as 1,500 travelling Bantams making the seven hour round trip to Roots Hall, City ran out comfortable 1-0 winners thanks to a superb finesse finish from midfielder Lee Evans in the 12th minute.
In the process, Bradford also recorded their 21st clean sheet in the league this season thanks to another fine collective display from Ben Williams and the back four, City now have the second best defence in League One this term behind second placed Burton Albion.
Although it’s very likely we will face London side Millwall in the play-offs we still have something to play for on Sunday in our match against Chesterfield as we look to finish above the Lions to secure home advantage in our upcoming play-off semi-final. We could also still face Walsall in the play-off semi-final however the Midlands club currently sit three points clear of Millwall and should pick up a point or three against Port Vale in their final match of the season hence meaning the South London club would be unable to finish fifth. If we win on Sunday and Millwall fail to beat Gillingham, the Bantams will finish in fourth spot and will obtain home advantage in the crucial second leg of the semi-final.
To say our season has had its ups and downs would be an understatement. Remember the start of the season where after three league matches without a win and a defeat to York in the Capital One Cup it looked bleak? Me neither. This team is unrecognisable now. Phil Parkinson and his staff have once again done a marvellous job of giving us fans something to really cheer about. Year to year Parky has improved our beloved City and it’s frightening to think where this club might be without him right now.
Our squad right now is full of passion and commitment. Every player is playing really well and our squad depth is at its strongest in many, many seasons. We have the second best defence in the league with twenty one clean sheets and despite our lack of goals compared to some, we have the seventh best goal difference in League One. With great current form and six wins in a row at home nobody should want to play the Bantams right now.
With our recent positive results, Phil Parkinson has also this week been nominated for the League One manager of the month award as he’s taken City to a guaranteed play-off position with a game to spare.
As for our visitors on Sunday afternoon, Chesterfield have had a poor season this time around. Beating us to sixth position and a play-off spot last year, the Spireites have massively underwhelmed this time around and only guaranteed safety from relegation a few weeks back. The loss of captain and star midfielder Sam Morsy to Wigan in January was a huge blow for the Derbyshire club whom have especially struggled in defence this term, conceding 28 goals more than Bradford over 45 matches.
Chesterfield are enjoying somewhat average league form of late though. Over their last ten League One encounters, the Spireites have won three, drawn three and lost four. Just like any team in this league Chesterfield can be dangerous going forward. Key strikers Lee Novak and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake have 24 league goals between them whilst midfielder Jay O’Shea has nine league goals and eight assists to his name in League One this campaign. Earlier in the season we managed one of our 1-0 wins away at the Proact Stadium in Chesterfield thanks to a second half strike from Tony McMahon in a game where we enjoyed the lion’s share of possession.
A win this Sunday dinnertime then against Chesterfield would be fantastic to keep our form going into the play-offs especially with our recent superb record at Valley Parade. The Bantams have won their last six home matches in League One, scoring 11 times in the process and only conceding on one occasion. Throughout the course of this campaign so far City have only conceded 16 goals in total at Valley Parade, the clubs best display since the 1979-80 season when we finished fifth in the old fourth division.
Want another interesting stat? Well if another clean sheet can be obtained in the early Sunday kick-off against Chesterfield it would equal our all-time record of fewest goals conceded in a season. The current record is 40, coming during the 1913-14 season however Bradford only participated in 38 league games that season, eight less than during our 2015-16 campaign.
What should we ask of the team on Sunday then? To go out, give 100% and to get Valley Parade rocking before the inevitable play-off semi-final next week.
