League 2: Bradford City v Torquay United 09/04/2011

[Jeff]

Gutted I had to miss this one, sounded like a fantastic performance. Our best since Wycombe? Thanks for the report tommyg

[robc]

Only my third game of the season, and my first victory!

So, the game... Tommyg summed up my thoughts pretty well, and if you'll bear with me, I'll try and understand why it really, really impressed me.

We were clinical. So clinical, probably only had 5 or 6 proper chances, and scored 3 of them. 2nd and 3rd goals were sheer quality, lovely football, Robinson and then O'Kane with incisive runs and great cut backs to Tomlin and Kee respectively. We never really pressured though, if that makes sense, it looked like we could've gone up another 2 gears and scored 5 or 6 if we needed. Everyone was good, maybe Oastler was a little bit rusty after not playing in a while, but apart from that, everyone was really good. Special mention must go to Lathrope, who as tommyg said, after we went 1-0 up really stepped up to the task, not letting any of their midfielders have any time on the ball.

A quick word about Bradford, they were absolutely awful, truly miserable. Giants all over the pitch, especially the centre backs, but as soon as our front 4 started running at them they didn't have a chance. Hilarious to see about 2000 people leaving when Kee scored the 3rd as well, never seen such an exodus!

[gullsflyinghigh]

Sounds good chaps. How many Torquay fans were there?

Now onto Vale & Wycombe. Two massive games, big support on Saturday for the boys please! COYY

[bixieupnorth]

211 gulls was the official tally but it must have sounded like 5 times that to the assembled bradford masses!! excellent performance from every player, especially the defence, all four of whom barely put a foot wrong all day. robbo did get his usual couple of bollockings from pickles still tho!!

my day was an odd one, travelling solo with a hangover from the previous nights beer festival, i set off from home for the bus about 1045, train station in sheffield was heaving and i had to q for ages to get my tickets, £15.60 cheap day return via leeds. made my 1121 with seconds to spare, arriving for my first ever visit to bradford i was horrified by the locals, couldnt find a decent pub, but eventually happened upon the shoulder of mutton, £1.67 for a pint of sam smiths old brewery bitter, boozer packed with old fellas and hardened drinkers, natch at those prices, like a latter day wetherspoons i guess?? didnt feel overly comfortable in there, so supped up and called my cousins lad who was on his way over from a weekend in leeds.

wandered thru the town feeling increasingly wary as the town centre gave way to the street drinkers towards manningham lane. met up with the leeds crew, plus cousin who'd come up from oxford, one from halifax and one from manchester. bradford arms was their pub of choice last season, but it appeared to be a throwback to the mid 70s when real ale was in decline, settled on a couple pints of guinness, the round of 6 pints cost just over £13!! close to the ground, locals friendly walking up there, set into side of a valley so you have no idea just how big the ground is, turnstile staff and stewards genuinley friendly, £3 programme and £20 in we took our seats opposite a vast 3 tier stand, easily the best ground in bottom two divisions now that hillsboro is so shabby. couple hundred gulls soaking up the sun.

our warm up shooting practice didnt bode well, some poor stewards cuppa went flying and i wouldve moved seats if i'd been them after that!!

the game took a while to get started, actually most of the first half was nondescript save the excellent set up for nichos first goal and some wasteful short corner routines


second half a different story, we started passing the ball fluently on the bobbly pitch and the rest is history

leaving the ground for a solitary walk back to the station there were several groups of dodgy young lads looking manacing and i managed to swallow a fly, which i'm sure it still lodged somewhere in my increasingly sore airway spreading its dirty west yorkshire germs!

good day out all in all, couldnt wait to get away and hopefully we wont need to go there next season!! burton next on my agenda

[bixieupnorth]

dunno what happened there!!

[Jeff]

Worth noting that as neither of Zebs or Branston were booked yesterday, I believe they have passed the amnesty for the "10 yellow cards = 2 match ban" rule. No selection concerns for them for the remainder of the season.

[SuperNickyWroe]

thanks for that tommyg. and bixie! =D

if, as you say they played yesterday like they did v grimsby and bury away last season then i bet it was great to watch!

was at both of those and the team were class both times.

[yellow]

Thanks for the report tommyg.

I don t know how Bucks is doing it but that is an impressive result.

With 4 of the last 5 games against promotion contenders we are about to find out how good we really are.

Whichever way it goes I think we have punched above our weight, and that this season is a success already.

Anything else will be the icing on the cake. These are splendid times indeed.....

[Dave_Pougher]

Interesting posative comments. Thanks to everyone with the excellent match reports. Really does make you wonder what's going to happen next !

A few weeks ago it was maybe a playoff place now it''s maybe an auto place. Don't know how they've done it at a time when everything seems stacked against us we seem to be sailing along quite happy.

Nearly everyone I speak to has penciled in Burton as there next away match, In suppose the next few results will determine it's qualification as an offical yellow away day. I hope it is.

[gulls_aloud]

Smashing reports, thanks guys. Jealous not to have been there! My internet was down and I listened to as much of the game as Radio Devon would allow - the magical left foot of Nicholson in goal-scoring mode broke the airways momentarily, but from then on what impressed me the most was the way everything fell seemingly effortlessly into place in a way it so nearly does so very often.

My heart didn't sink as it usually does when we are 1-0 down because I was hearing wave after wave of attack. I agreed with the team selection and substitutions, and the referee seemed to be invisible and let the players get on with their game, intelligently, unselfishly and united. Very proud of the lads today, a massive 3 points and I cannot wait for Saturday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Edit: haha my heart sinks when we are 1-0 UP

[Bigman]

The first thing I'll say is Bradford were awful. However, having struggled against poor sides recently I was very pleased with the manner in which we dispatched them with a minimum of fuss. After a turgid sparring session, once we got the opener there was only one result. The more I think about it the more positives I take - we made a couple of other presentable chances (Robertson blasting over from 5 yards after Branston chested down a corner probably the best - should've left it to goal machine Guy), we played some nice keep ball at the end of the first half, and saw the game out easily in second gear with Zebs taking a well earned rest.

Very good signs for the rest of the season, let's hope we can replicate last year's sunshine form.

[tommyg]

Worth noting that as neither of Zebs or Branston were booked yesterday, I believe they have passed the amnesty for the "10 yellow cards = 2 match ban" rule. No selection concerns for them for the remainder of the season.

Absolutely crucial. It's a two-horse race between that pair for the POTY gong.

I know I already mentioned this in my report, but the amount of ground Zebroski covers is astonishing. I'm not sure what Buckle feeds him, but he just doesn't stop running. When he went off at the end, Bradford had more possession than at any time in the game. Obviously we were 3-0 up and took our foot off the gas, but it was also because nobody was really pressing the defence, which is something Zebs does, even if he's a good 30 yards away from the ball. There was one incident in the first half when he almost tackled the keeper despite being miles away when the goalie first received the pass.

Branston was a tower at the back and deserves praise for not getting booked in the last few games. A few fans wanted him to be subbed after the third goal, but obviously Buckle (or maybe North) had more faith in the Pickler's temperament.

[Plymouth Gull]

I do think that Nicho will be close, for POTY, tommy.

He often doesn't seem to get recognised but he consistently churns out solid performances, aswell as helping the team when attacking..

[robc]

And to think Nick, he seemed to be going the way of Sills, Woods, Hargreaves, Todd, etc towards the end of the last season... Which would have been a real shame. I think it's impossible to deny that he lacks pace at L2 level, but for some reason it's not been overly exploited this season. However he's a solid defender, and offers so much going forward, as the first and third goals yesterday illustrate. I also doubt that there are many, if any, more consistent threats from set pieces in the whole division.

[Plymouth Gull]

While we've only won away twice since Christmas, both were against teams beginning with B - omen or what!

Someone remind me.. who's our next away game against?