Coca-Cola League Two
Shrewsbury (0) 1 Hibbert 70
Bradford C (2) 2 Evans 16, Flynn 35
Att: 5,525
Stats: Shrewsbury - Bradford C:
Possession: 50 - 50%
Shots on target: 8 - 2
Shots off target: 6 - 9
Fouls: 8 - 10
Corners: 7 - 5
Ref: Scott Mathieson (Cheshire)
Yellow cards:
Shrewsbury: Langmead (74 min).
Bradford C: James O'Brien (49 min), Eastwood (87 time wasting).
Langmead & O'Brien for unsporting behaviour.
Shrewsbury: 29. Steve Phillips, 2. Dean Holden, 8. Kelvin Langmead, 5.
Graham Coughlan, 24. Shane Cansdell-Sherriff, 21. Jake Simpson (84), 15.
Paul Murray, 25. Joss Labadie, 18. Steven Leslie (55), 9. Dave Hibbert, 12.
Nathan Elder (55).
Subs: 22. Andres Arestidou (GK), 11. Jake Robinson (55), 14. Kris Bright
(84), 19. Harry Hooman, 20. Andre Gray, 23. Lewis Neal (55), 28. Kevin
McIntyre.
Bradford C: 1. Simon Eastwood, 2. Simon Ramsden, 5. Zesh Rehman, 12. Steve
Williams, 3. Luke O'Brien, 26. Scott Neilson (89), 19. James O'Brien (89),
8. Lee Bullock, 4. Michael Flynn, 9. Gareth Evans, 17. James Hanson.
Subs: 13. Jon McLaughlin (GK), 6. Matthew Clarke, 16. Jonathan Bateson (89),
18. Rory Boulding, 20. Leon Osborne (89), 21. Luke Sharry.
===========================
Coca-Cola League Two
Shrewsbury (0) 1 Hibbert 70
Bradford C (2) 2 Evans 16, Flynn 35
Att: 5,525
By Simon Parker (T&A)
City clinched their fourth win on the trot with a gutsy victory at
Shrewsbury.
Not many sides will win at the ProStar Stadium this season - and Stuart
McCall's side certainly had to battle their socks off for the three points.
City had to withstand an onslaught in the opening 15 minutes with Simon
Eastwood pulling off two crucial saves.
But the Bantams stunned the hosts by scoring from their first attack, Gareth
Evans turning in a low cross from Michael Flynn.
That changed the game totally and Flynn doubled the lead before half-time
with a 30-yard rocket.
Flynn saw another drive turned over after the break before Shrewsbury came
back to life.
Kelvin Langmead hit the bar before former Bantam Dave Hibbert nodded one
back.
City were under the cosh and youngster Jake Simpson rocked the underside of
the bar. But the visitors survived six frantic minutes of added time to
record a notable win.
===========================
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sportbcfc/sportbcfcmatch/4583318.Close_shave_as_City_win_it_by_a_whisker/?ref=rss
Williams intervention vital but fourth straight win not clear cut
7:20am Monday 7th September 2009
By Simon Parker
Shrewsbury 1 City 2
Steve Williams changed his mind about a pre-match hair cut – and saved City's latest three points in the process.
The former barber had planned to give his barnet a quick once-over on Saturday morning.
And after Shrewsbury came within a hair's breadth of stopping the fourth win on the bounce, his team-mates were mighty relieved Williams never got round to it.
As the game went into a seventh nerve-jangling minute of added time, Dean Holden's cross looked to have put the equaliser on a plate for Lewis Neal.
But as the Shrewsbury substitute prepared to bury the close-range header, Williams stretched to get the faintest of touches to divert the ball away from his waiting bonce.
"He just about nicked it away," admitted Michael Flynn. "Willo was going to cut his hair in the morning. If he had done, I don't think he'd have got to that ball!"
It was the closest of shaves for City who, on the balance of play, were slightly fortunate to escape Shropshire with a third away win in a fortnight.
They did get lucky at crucial times – none more so than with Jake Simpson's bar-rattling effort that bounced down on the goal-line and back out.
But Lady Luck and Stuart McCall have never been close buddies since he took over, so any rub of the green has been long overdue, as the City chief acknowledged.
McCall said: "In the two and a half years I've been here it's usually gone against us. I wish we could have had that bit of luck in the last nine games of last season and then we might have made the play-offs.
"I feel for Simmo (Shrewsbury boss Paul Simpson) because I know what it's like when things go against you. We had our slice of luck but we dug in there and it's a massive victory.
"We've gone to Rochdale and Shrewsbury and won now, and that will be great for our confidence and self-belief."
Forget the so-called game of two halves, Saturday was one of three thirds. Two spells of total Shrewsbury pressure bookmarked a middle phase controlled by the visitors.
For the first quarter of an hour, the ball did not leave the City half as Shrewsbury came storming out of the blocks.
The height of Dave Hibbert and Nathan Elder up front and the two hulking centre halves were always going to pose problems at set-pieces. Four corners nearly produced goals every time as City looked vulnerable in the air.
The fact that it remained goalless under the constant bombardment was largely down to Simon Eastwood, who pulled off two crucial saves before his team had got going.
The first came from Elder's glancing header, which the keeper must have seen late but he still managed to stick out a strong enough right hand to deny the goal.
Then it was Hibbert's turn to be frustrated as the one-time City striker's acrobatic overhead kick was deftly turned round the post by the keeper's fingertips.
It's been a good week for Eastwood, who is slowly but surely winning over the doubters.
Flynn always knew the rookie stopper had what it takes after their time together at the Galpharm. And he is delighted to see the youngster coming to the fore.
The Welshman said: "I know Easty's had a little bit of stick from the fans but he's only a young lad. He's going to be nervous playing for such a big club as Bradford.
"But he's showed his qualities out there. If they'd scored early, it would have been a different game.
"Easty was outstanding in the first 15 minutes before we'd really got off the bus, and made some absolutely amazing saves."
The Alamo averted, City promptly struck from their opening attack.
Eastwood's long ball upfield was flicked on by James Hanson, and Flynn picked up possession in the box, squaring for Gareth Evans to slide home.
McCall's regular assumption that goals change games was never more evident. Shrewsbury promptly lost their way and all the danger came from the other direction.
McCall had persisted with the same 4-3-3 approach from the previous two league wins, with Flynn and James O'Brien willing runners from midfield to support Hanson and the two wide men.
City gobbled up second balls and snapped into challenges as Shrewsbury's early assurance quickly disintegrated.
The second goal ten minutes before the break was worth the admission money alone. Again it started with Hanson's head on the end of an Eastwood clearance, O'Brien shuttling the ball into the path of Flynn, who sent it screaming into the bottom corner from 30 yards.
Shrewsbury, usually the most miserly of hosts, looked dishevelled and ragged and were booed off at half-time for their troubles. Having laid the ghost of Rochdale, City were well on the way to consigning another supposed bogey ground to the scrapyard.
Flynn nearly had a third with another drive soon after the break before Simpson decided to breathe new life into his side with a double change. Elder was sacrificed, and the arrival of Neal and Jake Robinson gave the home side an injection of pace and a fresh edge.
After Scott Neilson had driven over from a tight angle, the game entered its third phase. The last 25 minutes (or should that be 32) were a carbon copy of that opening phase dominated by Shrewsbury.
The two-goal advantage did not look quite so impregnable as Neal's left-footed free-kick caught Eastwood in no man's land in the City penalty area.
Kelvin Langmead nodded the ball past him - and then watched in horror as the ball bounced up against the bar and away with nobody near enough to scramble it home.
The home fans rediscovered their voices and Shrewsbury answered the call with the goal that had been coming.
Robinson turned Luke O'Brien to create the space for Dean Holden's cross, and Hibbert got across Williams to glance in his fifth of the season.
We were back to the Alamo.
A lone response from Neilson was pushed away before Shrewsbury came again. Neal sent Simpson, the manager's son, clear of the defence and an equaliser appeared inevitable.
As McCall berated the assistant referee - and the debutant did look a couple of yards offside of last man O'Brien - Simpson smashed the ball past Eastwood. Again it crashed against the City bar before pinging down on the goal-line and away.
McCall threw on Jon Bateson to make a five-man defence but City's inexperience was highlighted as they failed to keep the ball. Instead of taking the sting out the game, they kept presenting Shrewsbury with possession again.
Six extra minutes were tacked on but it was well into the seventh when City were finally breached. Well, they would have been but for the bristling determination of their centre half.
===========================
Video and pictures
http://www.shropshirestar.com/2009/09/07/shrewsbury-1-bradford-2-%E2%80%94-in-pictures/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/bradford_city/default.stm
(UK viewers only)
===========================
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/football_league/article6823933.ece
Bradford happy to ride their luckChris Brereton Prostar Stadium
Recommend?
If the Shrewsbury Town fans had been told, 15 minutes in, that their team would lose this match they would have pointed you in the direction of the nearest asylum, or opticians, at the least.
Their early dominance was so absolute that a goal just had to arrive. It did, but at the other end, as Bradford City delivered a classic counter-blow thanks to a six-yard tap-in for Gareth Evans during the visiting team's first significant foray up the field.
Shrewsbury's shock at finding themselves a goal down was compounded by a 30-yard strike from Michael Flynn in the 35th minute that was worthy of winning any match, as it proved to do here, although Dave Hibbert's acrobatic header for the home side with 23 minutes left did ensure an entertaining finish to a baffling encounter.
"I will take them from five yards, ten yards or 300 yards, as long as they go in," Flynn said. "It is a case of trying to hit the target and hoping for that bit of luck. I should have scored more this season so it was nice to see that one hit the target.
"It was a massive team effort, though, and that is what counts. Not many teams will come here and manage to do what we have done and that shows how good we can be this season."
An early goalline clearance, a wonderful point-blank save from Simon Eastwood and more than a fair share of luck helped Bradford to remain in a contest that they could have comfortably been out of after ten minutes.
That ounce of fortune, readily admitted by Stuart McCall, the Bradford manager, did not desert the Yorkshire side in the second half, either, as Shrewsbury took a cyclical approach to the game by ending as by far the better side.
An effort by Jake Simpson in the dying moments cannoned down off the crossbar and may have crossed the line but was not given by the officials as Bradford held on for a puzzling three points.
"It's about time we had some luck, and we had it today," McCall said. "If we had had that kind of luck last season in the last nine games we would have made the play-offs, so we are due some and it was nice of it to come here."
Shrewsbury Town (4-4-2): S Phillips — S Cansdell- Sherriff, K Langmead, G Coughlan, D Holden — S Leslie (sub: L Neal, 56min), P Murray, J Labadie, J Simpson (sub: K Bright, 85) — D Hibbert, N Elder (sub: J Robinson, 56). Substitutes not used: H Hooman, A Gray, A Arestidou, K McIntyre. Booked: Langmead.
Bradford City (4-5-1): S Eastwood — L O'Brien, Z Rehman, S Williams, S Ramsden — G Evans, L Bullock, M Flynn, S Neilson (sub: L Osborne, 89), J O'Brien (sub: J Bateson, 89) — J Hanson. Substitutes not used: M Clarke, J McLaughlin, R Boulding, L Sharry. Booked: Eastwood, J O'Brien.
Referee: S Mathieson. Attendance: 5,525.
===========================
http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/4583366.Flynn__a_driving_force__for_Bantams/
Flynn 'a driving force' for Bantams
7:30am Monday 7th September 2009
By Simon Parker
Rocket man Michael Flynn has been told to keep making a big noise at City.
Flynn fired his second goal in successive games with a 30-yard cracker at Shrewsbury as the Bantams made it four wins in a row.
And boss Stuart McCall hailed the Welshman's impact on and off the field.
McCall said: "We are a young, quiet squad and bringing Flynny in has certainly livened it up.
"We know he can strike a ball like that and he's a good pro. We do need a little bit of chirpiness and confidence and he has been a driving force for us."
Flynn set up Gareth Evans for the opener in City's 2-1 win before unleashing another trademark blast of his own.
He admitted: "I should have had a few more goals already this season so it was nice to see it go in.
"The balls these days do move a lot so you've always got a chance if you connect right. First and foremost you just concentrate on hitting the target.
"But I'll take any goal as long as we win, whether they are from five, ten or 300 yards. I feel my match fitness is really coming on now. I'd only played two full games in nine months before I came here and it's taken me a bit of time to get up to speed.
"I'm finishing stronger now in games and there's still a lot more to come."
Former City loan striker Dave Hibbert pulled one back to set up a frantic finish, and Shrewsbury twice hit the woodwork, but the visitors survived the late scares to clinch the win that moves them up to ninth.
Flynn added: "As soon as the board went up for six added minutes, I was giving the referee earache every ten seconds asking how long was left. In the end he was going to book me if I didn't shut up so I had to bite my tongue.
"We were under a lot of pressure but not many teams will win at Shrewsbury. They hit the bar twice and may feel unlucky but we also had chances to kill it off.
"We are starting to believe we can be a good team and have got that little bit of steel about us. We're all working for each other and are becoming hard to beat."
But City suffered several knocks to add to a casualty list that already includes Peter Thorne, Michael Boulding and Chris Brandon.
McCall added: "I'm so pleased we haven't got a midweek game or we'd be struggling to put a team out. We brought every fit pro we had, apart from the third-choice keeper. But it was a big win for us."
===========================
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/bradford/Shrewsbury-Town-1-Bradford-City.5621239.jp
Shrewsbury Town 1 Bradford City 2: Evans and Flynn net for Bantams
Bradford victorious
RELIEVED Stuart McCall admitted his upwardly mobile Bradford City side were fortunate to emerge with maximum points.
McCall, who was down to his last 17 fit players, saluted his side's "endeavour and effort" but the Bantams' goal lived a charmed life before they sealed a fourth successive victory.
First-half strikes from Gareth Evans and the impressive Michael Flynn gave Bradford some breathing space.
Dave Hibbert pulled one back for Shrewsbury midway through the second half and the hosts narrowly failed to rescue a point when both Kelvin Langmead and Jake Simpson, the manager's teenage son, struck the bar.
"We've rode our luck," said McCall. "But how many times since I've been in charge have I been able to say that? Something's gone for us and I feel sorry for Simmo (opposite number Paul Simpson)."
Goalkeeper Simon Eastwood pulled off instinctive stops to prevent Nathan Elder's header and Hibbert's overhead kick from giving Shrewsbury a flying start.
City stood firm, central defenders Zesh Rehman and Steve Williams both towers of strength, before Evans swept home Flynn's low cross. The boost of having the lead settled Bradford and the influential Flynn doubled the advantage with a well-struck shot from 25 yards 10 minutes before the break.
Hibbert, who once had a spell on loan at Bradford, set up a nervy finish for the Bantams when he powered home a header from Simpson's cross.
Shrewsbury: Phillips; Holden, Coughlan, Langmead, Cansdell-Sherriff; Simpson (Bright 84), Labadie, Murray, Leslie (Neal 55); Elder (Robinson 55). Unused substitutes: Hooman, Gray, McIntyre, Arestidou.
Bradford City: Eastwood; Ramsden, Williams, Rehman, L. O'Brien; Neilson (Osbourne 88), Flynn, Bullock, J. O'Brien (Bateson 88), Hanson; Evans. Unused substitutes: Clarke, R. Boulding, Sharry, McLaughlin.
Referee: Scott Mathieson (Stockport).
Man of the match: Michael Flynn (Bradford).
===========================
===========================
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