Next fixture
(Macclesfield April 5th W1-0 ... report out, hmmm, Thursday)
L2 Torquay (h) April 9th Ko 3pm
Current table
http://www.sportinglife.com/football/live/tables/cc_league2.html
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Fixtures
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/Fixtures/0,,10266,00.html
Pictures
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/News/0,,10266~2330112,00.html?
"Last Match" Highlights on Bantams Player
http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/page/player/LastMatch/0,,10266~1612005~36,00.html
Links
BBC's end-of-season predictor.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/predictor/default.stm
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Match stats + team info best viewed online
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=294779&cc=5739
Stevenage Bradford City
10(6) Shots (on Goal) 4(2)
6 Fouls 10
5 Corner Kicks 5
3 Offsides 1
64% Time of Possession 36%
1 Yellow Cards 2
0 Red Cards 0
2 Saves 4
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Saturday evening match report
4:59pm Saturday 2nd April 2011
By Simon Parker
Peter Jackson's bid to keep the City hot-seat suffered another setback at in-form Stevenage this afternoon.
The home side clocked up a sixth win on the bounce to leave the Bantams still looking over their shoulders at the bottom, especially with Barnet's impressive win at Burton.
Tom Adeyemi had a half-chance saved by Chris Day in an even start but it went downhill from there.
The Bantams were lucky to escape on 21 minutes as Stacy Long chipped over a stranded Jon McLaughlin but the ball pinged back off the bar.
Stevenage upped the ante more and more as the half wore on and went in front nine minutes before the break from the penalty spot.
Referee Brendan Malone had done City few favours but there were no complaints after Steve Williams bundled over Long and John Mousinho tucked away the spot-kick.
City were second to the ball too often and would have gone further behind right on the interval but for Lewis Hunt who twice cleared off the line in a matter of seconds from home skipper Mark Roberts.
Jackson had a face like thunder as he headed for the dressing room, no doubt ready to deliver a few choice words.
Former City coach Junior Lewis, sitting in the stand behind the dug-outs, would have known how he felt.
Stevenage resumed as they left off and Darius Charles went close with a header after a mix-up between Williams and McLaughlin.
McLaughlin saved well from Darren Murphy before David Syers nearly equalised in the 70th minute. Getting forward for once from his right-back role, his shot on the turn from Leon Osborne's cross was parried by Day and the rebound fell behind the incoming substitute Chib Chilaka.
City were having more of a go and two minutes later Syers made no mistake, squeezing a cross-shot inside the far post for his ninth goal of the season.
Parity lasted just four minutes as Craig Reid's cutback was swept home by an unmarked Darius Charles from ten yards out to restore Stevenage's lead.
Jackson threw on Luke Oliver up front - a position he'd played in an FA Trophy final for Stevenage - and Jake Speight.
And there was one late chance three minutes into stoppage time but Chilaka nodded wide.
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Monday morning match report
Jackson's inherited problems all too plain to see
6:20am Monday 4th April 2011
By Simon Parker
Stevenage 2, City 1
Peter Jackson and Colin Cooper sat in dugout isolation as they idly watched the players warm down.
It would not be too hard to hazard a guess at what they were thinking.
Not that Jackson gave much away in his post-match press conference. The interim boss, usually the bubbliest of characters, struck a flat and listless character in front of the microphones.
Jacko talked of the need to pick the players up for tomorrow's "massive" encounter with Macclesfield. First he has to get his own chin off the floor.
The prize that he is so desperate to claim remains elusively out of reach. Saturday's result had done him few favours and Jackson knew it.
City had finished with a front three of Jake Speight, Chib Chilaka and Luke Oliver.
That's a striker who has not scored for City from open play since August, another who has not got one at all and a centre half thrown forward as nuisance value.
On the same afternoon, Crewe were smashing Cheltenham for eight – nearly a quarter of what City have managed since August! The problems that Jackson inherited are all too plain to see.
Once again the goal that proved City's undoing was self-inflicted after a mistake by David Syers. But, as it has regularly been pointed out, Syers is no natural defender. The fact that he was his side's most potent attacking threat said it all.
Jackson went on the defensive afterwards when questioned about persisting with employing the season's only bright spot as a makeshift right back.
At least Oliver's presence in the closing stages should allow him to restore the natural order to City's formation at Moss Rose.
Ironically Lewis Hunt was the best performer at centre half, a role he continues to fill with the confidence of someone more than just filling in.
But Oliver's return would allow Hunt to resume his usual right-back duties – and free Syers to go foraging from midfield again. Please.
Jon Worthington, too, must be brought back to add some bite to a midfield where Michael Flynn continues to struggle.
Jackson had tried Leon Osborne for the first time but the winger proved as peripheral a figure as he has done through the many opportunities given him by Peter Taylor.
So once again there was little output from City's flanks.
Scott Dobie was pushed up top to partner James Hanson after Jackson lost patience with Speight. But that move didn't work either as the frontmen got nothing out of the uncompromising Stevenage central defenders.
It highlights the size of City's decline that few eyebrows would have been raised by the final scoreline.
Anyone glancing through the programme would have read the warning signs about Stevenage's finishing power.
Last season they won 14 of the last 15 league games on the way to the Conference crown. The year before it was something similar.
So a sixth straight victory at this stage of the season seems par for the course for a side with an unquenchable belief in their own destiny.
Graham Westley and his team put plenty of non-league noses out of joint on their way up. They clearly thrive on rubbing rivals up the wrong way.
"Our success is deeply resented by the many and appreciated only by the few," is the Westley mantra.
No surprise there were a few sparks flying on the touchline with two such combustible characters a matter of metres apart. The fourth official frequently found himself the meat in the sandwich.
Westley was on referee Brendan Malone's case from the off, picking up on any contact with his targetman Darius Charles.
The striker – who can bizarrely also play left back – looked quite capable of handling himself and dished plenty back. But it was the out-of-sorts Steve Williams who bore the brunt of Westley's ire and, predictably, Malone's whistle.
After an early half-chance for Tom Adeyemi, one of City's bolder performers, the game had quickly settled into an expected pattern as Stevenage pounded away.
Stacy Long left Jon McLaughlin grounded with a deft chip that bounced back into play off the bar.
Then City pressed the self-destruct button once again as Williams bundled into Long. Charles knocked in the loose ball but Malone had already pointed to the spot, John Mousinho making no mistake anyway from 12 yards.
City, having held their ground for the first quarter, were starting to creak.
Hunt kept them in it, first getting a vital touch on Long's drive and then twice defying home skipper Mark Roberts with a game of head tennis on his own goalline.
The outlook remained just as bleak into the second half. Williams and McLaughlin got in each other's way to gift Charles a free header, before the keeper made amends with a smart block from Darren Murphy.
City needed a lift from somewhere – and got it from the reluctant right back. Syers burst upfield, took a return pass from Osborne in the box, swivelled and forced the save from a startled Chris Day. The rebound, typically, ran just behind substitute Chilaka.
But there were signs of life and City's extra zip was soon rewarded with an equaliser. Again it was that man Syers who squeezed his shot inside the far post for his ninth goal of the term.
Suddenly a few cracks were appearing in the home psyche; the earlier cockiness of the place drifting away as West Yorkshire voices rang out from the far end.
Could City go on and pinch the win? Er, no. Syers played himself into trouble, Williams was caught on his heels and Craig Reid cut back for Charles to fire in from acres of room.
Having punched the air just four minutes before, Jackson was left pounding the top of the dugout in sheer frustration.
It threatened to get worse as Murphy played in Chris Beardsley. This time fortune favoured the bravery of McLaughlin, the shot pinging off his body and safely away from the gathering red and white shirts.
Still there was one final opportunity for City's B-list frontline. With Day in no man's land, Gareth Evans hoisted the ball hopefully into the box and Chilaka planted a free header two yards wide. Same old story.
Westley bellowed at the assistant referee as the clock past the agreed four minutes of added time and the prompt whistle produced a chorus of "another one bites the dust" from the tannoy.
Stevenage crowed over another three points; Jackson and Cooper were left to stew on their own prospects. The future remains unsure for all concerned. Attendance: 3,079
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Oliver insists Bantams are not far away from getting consistent results
6:10am Tuesday 5th April 2011
By Simon Parker
Luke Oliver reckons City are "two per cent" off being a decent side.
The big defender is set to swell the ranks at Macclesfield tonight after making his comeback from a hamstring injury in the 2-1 loss against Stevenage.
For Oliver, Saturday was another example of the fine margin between success and failure. Eight of City's last nine defeats have been by a single goal.
He admitted: "It's very annoying because it's not as if we've been thumped too many times.
"I don't think there's a lot of difference between the teams in most games. But maybe we're just lacking that extra two per cent to get the result.
"I personally feel on our day we can beat anyone. We've just not had enough of those days.
"We come away every time thinking the performance wasn't too bad and maybe we'll get it right again the next week. It's very frustrating for everyone."
Oliver is not predicting a nasty sting in the tail of a wretched season – and City can do themselves a huge favour by leap-frogging Macc with a victory.
He said: "We're very confident that we won't get caught up in any relegation battle. But we have to bounce back again tonight and get as far away from the bottom two as we can.
"We want to get into mid-table with a strong finish so things are looking up for next season.
"Over the course of the season, we've probably done better against the better teams.
"It's the points that we've dropped against those lower down which is why we are where we are. We need to correct that tonight.
"It will be a battle and we've got to stamp our authority on them."
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From the Official BCFC Website…
FOOTBALL LEAGUE STRIKE NEW SKY DEAL
The Football League and Sky Sports have signed a new broadcasting agreement
to run for three seasons from 2012/13.
The new deal, worth £195m, will see Sky Sports extend their unrivalled live
coverage of the npower Football League, Carling Cup and Johnstone's Paint
Trophy into 2015.
The League is also engaged in ongoing discussions with broadcasters
regarding free-to-air match highlights.
Under the new agreement Sky Sports will broadcast, exclusively live, each
season:
- 75 matches from across the npower Football League.
- The npower Football League Play-Offs - including all three Finals.
- 15 matches from the Carling Cup, including both legs of each Carling Cup
semi-final and the Carling Cup Final from Wembley Stadium.
- The Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final and at least two matches from the
preceding rounds.
Sky Sports will also broadcast highlights and clips of the npower Football
League, Carling Cup & Johnstone's Paint Trophy. The agreement encompasses
television, broadband internet, video-on-demand and mobile services.
In announcing the new agreement Football League Chairman Greg Clarke said:
"Sky Sports is a highly valued partner of The Football League and we are
delighted to extend our relationship for a further three seasons. They are a
class act and our clubs will welcome their continued support.
"This has been a challenging climate in which to negotiate television
rights, given the state of the economy and the lack of competitive tension
in the sports broadcasting market.
"I am confident that our clubs will take heart from seeing such a
significant ongoing investment in their competitions, despite a reduced
level of broadcasting income, as it provides financial certainty in
uncertain times."
Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports said:
"Sky Sports has had a long and successful partnership with The Football
League.
"We have seen the growth of attendances, the huge success of the Play-Offs
and some wonderful Carling Cup Finals.
"This new deal will extend the relationship to 2015 and will take us beyond
our 1000th live Football League game.
"Sky Sports will bring viewers more live matches - over 100 a year from
across all divisions and each of The League's competitions - and be the home
of live npower League, Carling Cup and Johnstone's Paint Trophy football."
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