League Two
March 24, 2012
Coral Windows Stadium, England
Referee: S Mathieson
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Signings, Loans and Injuries
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Match Media & Stats
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http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbcfc/sport_bantams_pics2011/
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"Last Match" Highlights on Bantams Player
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17506544?
Match stats
http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=234#teamTabs=results
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report/_/id/319874?&cc=5901
Bradford City Gillingham
18(6) Shots (on Goal) 7(4)
11 Fouls 12
10 Corner Kicks 3
4 Offsides 3
48% Time of Possession 52%
1 Yellow Cards 1
0 Red Cards 0
3 Saves 9
Bradford City: McLaughlin; Ramsden (Wells 62), Davies, Oliver, Fry; Fagan, Ravenhill (Syers 46), Bullock, Reid; Hanson, Dagnall. Unused substitutes: Annerson, Smalley, Kozluk.
Gillingham: Gazzaniga; Fish, Essam, Frampton, Martin; Whelpdale, Montrose, Payne, Jackman, Obita (74); Kuffour (Vine 78). Unused substitutes: King, Miller, Lee.
Referee: S Mathieson (Cheshire).
Goals
Lewis Montrose (25')
Simon Ramsden (56') (Own Goal)
Nahki Wells (71')
James Hanson (84')
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Monday morning match reports
Three disallowed 'goals' deny Bradford City as James Hanson equaliser also has whiff of controversy
6:30am Monday 26th March 2012
By Simon Parker
City 2, Gillingham 2
A ruffle of the hair and hearty pat on the shoulder gave the game away.
The Gillingham defender wasn't checking on Paulo Gazzaniga's well being as he lay prone on the ground.
No, he was congratulating him for winning the most generous of the day's disallowed goal decisions and depriving City of a famous fightback.
Seconds earlier, referee Scott Mathieson had stopped home celebrations in their tracks after Craig Fagan lashed the ball home.
It was the softest of fouls awarded in the keeper's favour, the type that drive forwards past and present bonkers. No wonder Ian Ormondroyd nearly punched a hole through the TV screen up in the press box.
City themselves were equally adamant that the goal should have stood. But they were also realistic enough to know that the odds were going to be in Gillingham's favour following the big call over their equaliser ten minutes earlier.
Then, James Hanson's initial drive had been ruled out because Nahki Wells stood in an offside position right in front of the keeper. The Bermudian had tried to backheel it in but failed; the shot beat Gazzaniga anyway.
But assistant Chris O'Donnell's flag went straight up – and not for the first time.
City, still sore at seeing substitute Wells denied a dramatic first-touch goal by the same linesman, were incensed and surrounded O'Donnell. Fagan led the protest towards Mathieson and the crowd howled in dismay.
Mathieson was persuaded by Fagan to have a word with the young official and, after 30 seconds of deliberation, the goal was given.
Cue pandemonium in the Gillingham ranks, with boss Andy Hessenthaler raging that his keeper could not make a save because Wells was directly in the way blocking his vision.
The thorny issue of whether offside players are active or not had reared its head once again. Whichever way Mathieson had pointed, the losing party would feel aggrieved.
But there was also the thought that last Monday's pow-wow with Football League refereeing head Dave Allison had borne immediate fruit.
The feeling within the club that refs were going out of their way not to be swayed at Valley Parade had been raised among the DVDs. Had that filtered down to the man in the middle on Saturday?
On the evidence of the non-foul in stoppage time, apparently not. But at least the over-ruled second goal was a start.
It was no more than the Bantams deserved for refusing to crack when it seemed that everything was stacked against them. There was nothing fortunate about the comeback which maintained their four-point lifeline over the bottom two.
The recovery was as much down to the fans as the players. Mark Lawn put a few noses out of joint with his pre-match "moaners not welcome" motto but the joint-chairman must have been thrilled by the backing from the stands.
Even when City were two down and seemingly on their way out, the crowd did not start hammering the team – and after three previous defeats, that was a pivotal moment.
"If they'd turned at 2-0, it might have been a different story," admitted Phil Parkinson. "But I thought the supporters were absolutely tremendous.
"We were getting beaten but they understood what was going on. Their team had given everything and a few things went against them but everyone kept going."
Lee Bullock reckoned the supporters earned an assist in the "will he, won't he" pantomime surrounding Hanson's goal.
The Bantams midfielder said: "The atmosphere was that good that it swayed the decision to give that goal. The volume to let the linesman know (he got it wrong) was brilliant."
The power of positive thinking and support made its impact. Equally, it was a more positive approach on the field that brought City back from the canvas.
Simon Ramsden was hooked just minutes after scoring the first own goal of his career. On came Wells to join half-time replacement David Syers and there was a new attacking dynamic.
City went three at the back, while Chris Dagnall sat in behind Wells and Hanson in a front threesome intent on testing Gillingham to the limit.
Kyel Reid and Fagan provided the ammo from either side and Syers the willing support, while Bullock just as importantly held anchor. "It was like the red arrows swarming forward," laughed Parkinson.
They certainly put on a display, with Reid in particular leaving blue shirts flagging in his wake. Not bad for a player who'd only driven up from London that morning after leaving his pregnant girlfriend's bedside.
Wells surely played his way back into the starting line-up – but where? Whether Parkinson would try such a gung-ho approach from the first whistle is another matter.
He said: "Playing three at the back is something you need time to work on it but we have done it in games before. We've got experienced players who tactically know where they should be.
"Bullock was the key to that. Everybody wants to be the one who gets the goal but you've got to be careful you don't concede on the counter-attack."
The afternoon had started brightly enough for City through the haze as they forced five corners in the first seven minutes. But chances failed to hit the target until Gillingham midfielder Lewis Montrose outjumped Matt Fry to show how it should be done.
That knocked the wind out of the home side but heads were cleared at the break. Again City began the half on top – only to fall further behind when Ramsden lunged to cut out Jo Kuffour's through-pass for Jordan Obita and diverted it past the stranded Jon McLaughlin.
As the ball rolled into the empty net, almost in slow motion, it looked another step towards the abyss at the bottom of the table.
Wells had been on the pitch less than ten seconds when he hooked home with his first touch. But that man O'Donnell risked universal fury by raising his flag – as he had done against Hanson's tap-in during the first half.
Undeterred, Wells met Reid's free-kick with a glancing header for his eighth goal of the season. Valley Parade sparked into overdrive.
Hanson's disputed drive brought City level, before Syers was denied at the near post as the roof threatened to blow.
Still there was time for one late, great chance. Gazzaniga flapped weakly in traffic at Reid's cross and Fagan blasted into the unguarded goal. But another decision City's way was too much to ask for.
Attendance: 9,858
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Kyel Reid dashes from stand-by hospital duty to lead Bradford City fightback
8:30am Monday 26th March 2012
By Simon Parker
Phil Parkinson admits Kyel Reid is turning him grey after the winger raced up from London to aid City's fight for survival.
The winger turned in an outstanding display as the Bantams hit back from two goals down to grab a point against Gillingham.
A 2-2 draw leaves them four points clear of the drop zone ahead of tomorrow night's game in hand against Crawley.
Reid's presence will be up in the air as he waits for the arrival of his first child.
Parkinson has given him permission to skip a game to be at the birth. But the City chief was delighted to have him on board on Saturday – even if it did give him a few pre-match scares.
He said: "I think Reidy's on a mission to give me a complete head of grey hair!
"His girlfriend was in the doctors and said the baby was nearly here, so we sent him back to London.
"Obviously he would have had to stay down there if she was in hospital. But he got back in the car Saturday morning to drive back up and I thought he was tremendous.
"This is probably the first time in his career he's been involved for a full season and he's looking fitter and stronger. He kept going at the back end of the game and was still powerful.
"I was watching their right back and he looked absolutely out on his feet. They had a midfield player trying to catch him as well and still couldn't get near him."
Nahki Wells and James Hanson scored in City's comeback and they were denied a stoppage-time winner from Craig Fagan for a foul on the goalkeeper – one of three disallowed efforts from the home side.
Parkinson admitted: "To disallow that many goals is quite bizarre. I don't think I've ever been involved in a game where we've score five and only got two of them.
"In the cold light of day, we'll look back on the chances and the disallowed goals and feel we deserved to win by two or three.
"We had a few setbacks but kept going and I've got to say I'm proud of the lads. Lesser teams would have crumbled but there's character in that dressing room."
Controversy surrounded the equaliser, with Hanson's effort initially ruled out by assistant Chris O'Donnell because Wells was offside. But referee Scott Mathieson gave the goal after being persuaded to speak to his fellow official.
Parkinson said: "Thankfully we had a very good and experienced referee. He was cool and calm in that big moment and made the right decision.
"Unfortunately we're not going to get experienced linesmen as well, we get young ones.
"But I thought it was harsh not to give the goal at the end. Their keeper came out loose and I was as annoyed with that (decision) as any in the game."
Opposite number Andy Hessenthaler confronted Mathieson after the game over City's "embarrassing" second goal.
He blasted: "I've got to be careful what I say but it was clearly offside and it cost us three points. We're livid."
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Parkinson to look at his options
Posted on: Mon 26 Mar 2012
City boss Phil Parkinson has refused to rule out making changes for Tuesday's home match with Crawley Town despite his side's stirring second half comeback against Gillingham at the weekend.
Parkinson was understandably delighted by City's efforts against the play-off chasing Gills after two goals in the final twenty minutes of the match from the Bantams saw them collect a deserved point from the fixture.
Wary of the effort his side put in to secure that morale-boosting draw, however, Parkinson has admitted that he will have to check on the freshness of a few of his players ahead of tomorrow's Crawley match.
Knowing the size of the threat Crawley will pose his side, the Bantams boss is keen to pick an eleven that will be able to go toe-to-toe with the promotion hopefuls from the very off.
When asked about the possiblity of changes, Parkinson said: "I was thinking about that yesterday (Sunday) while doing my preparations for this game.
"Myself and Steve (Parkin) has just decided to have a look at the lads in training and see how they were. We have to make sure that we are ready to go again for another big effort," said Parkinson.
"Tuesday is going to be a very competitive game, so we have just let the lads train, have a look at them and have a word with a few to see how they are.
"We are going to give them plenty of rest between now and tomorrow night to ensure that we are right to come flying out of the traps."
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Argyle v Bradford Fan Fest
Plymouth Argyle play Bradford City at home in a crucial game this coming Saturday and tickets are now on sale for the popular Fan Fest.
Organised by the Green Taverners and held in the Pyramid Suite at Home Park before each game the Fan Fests have become the best place for fans to sample the pre-match atmosphere with live entertainment and a free pasty and pint provided.
Tickets are £5 or £25 with a match ticket included and funds raised are used to accelerate the financial payments to the Argyle staff who suffered so much during the administration process.
Bradford fans are also very welcome to come along to the Fan Fest.
Tickets can be bought on-line HERE.
http://www.greentaverners.co.uk/2012/03/bradford-city-fanfest/
Have fun!
Read more: http://www.plymouth.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=277407#ixzz1qHWb9YTM
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