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Overall it was an amazing afternoon’s football and with no doubt at all an afternoon when we should have collected three points. The one point we did get was almost forgotten by returning fans who could see nothing positive whatsoever.
It all started fairly well and we looked the better side in the early stages and it was certainly against the run of play when Bradford took the lead after just 17 minutes. Just prior to that Bradford’s Mark Bower was yellow carded for a foul on Dimitri Papadopoulos and that was to prove significant.
If we had been the better side up to the goal we certainly weren’t after it and to be quite honest we were poor for the rest of the first half. However Papadopoulos was to feature again and was booked himself before going down in another challenge with Bower for which the Bradford man got a second yellow.
The Bradford fans believed Dimitri was cheating and this was echoed by their manager Nicky Law who said after the game that he was diving all over the place. There is no doubt though that Danny Cadamarteri could have seen red right on half time for a two footed lunge that failed to connect with Dean West. Isn’t it funny how the referees always miss the really bad challenge? Cadamarteri didn’t have to wait long though and just ten minutes into the second half did get a red card for appearing to elbow Dean West.
By this time Stan had made his by now customary two changes at half time with Papadopoulos and Mark McGregor going off to be replaced by Robbie Blake and Alan Moore. McGregor had played well in the first half but it was Briscoe, having another dreadful game, who stayed on and moved to left back.
Within two minutes of them going down to nine men we were level and it just had to be Robbie Blake who converted, via a deflection, a left wing cross on his first return to Bradford since joining the Clarets.
Most sensed victory from that moment on but the way we went about trying to break down a nine man team was pretty poor. It was incredible how many times we gave the ball away and only Paul Cook, my man of the match by some distance, and Robbie Blake were able to avoid giving the ball away.
It was one needless giving of the ball away that was to bring about a third substitution and the return of captain Steve Davis. Apparently Arthur Gnohere was feeling his hamstring but there is no doubt he was substituted having given the ball away unnecessarily, his replacement was to do it later with a catastrophic result.
Bradford were defending manfully with what looked like a 4-3-1 formation and even then Michael Proctor was dropping back to help out when we were in possession. Most of the play was towards the Bradford goal but incredibly during this passage of play the best two chances fell to the nine man home side.
Eventually we did get in front and what a good goal it was as Little got clear on the right to cross for Gareth Taylor to head home for his first goal of the season. He had once again been receiving stick from the fans but that was all forgotten as he celebrated in front of them.
Bradford accepted the defeat and made no real attempt to get back at us, they really did look happy with a 1-2 scoreline but surely the Clarets would hammer home the advantage now won.
Remember last year missing the play offs by one goal and then games when we settled for a one goal win. That’s how it was for the last quarter of an hour as we passed to ball across the back and only occasionally got it forward and then usually with a long ball that just gave possession away.
The Bradford fans had accepted defeat and were taking the micky out of us by cheering ever ball as the booing from the Burnley fans got louder and louder. Showboating is all well and good but doing it against nine men in such a way is nothing short of embarrassing.
The one saving grace seemed to be the fact that Bradford were never going to bother us and at least we would win the game 2-1. That was until we were in the very last minute of normal time when Steve Davis gave the ball away and let Bradford in. Marlon appeared to rescue things though with a good save but even then they were able to knock in the rebound with no apparent challenge from a Claret.
As we restarted the fourth official held up the board showing two minutes stoppage time and we started to pour forward in desperation but it was all too late and we managed just a corner.
Outside the ground after the final whistle there was real anger on the faces of Burnley fans disgusted at the way we had simply thrown away two points. The anger had nothing to do with the fact that it was a poor performance but the fact that we had simply thrown it away because of the way we had approached the latter stages of the game.
I can tell you the word disgraceful is one I would find it difficult to disagree with.
The point does take us up a place with Millwall losing at home but to be honest it just felt as if we had been hammered.
The plus points were definitely the performances of Paul Cook and Robbie Blake, I really do not understand why Cooky isn’t one of the first names on the team sheet. Mark McGregor also did well in the first half and can count himself very unlucky to have been substituted at half time.
The referee has to be mentioned and there is no doubt he did lose control during a spell in the first half. Whether he got the red card decisions right or not it was difficult to see but certainly the Bradford manager doesn’t think so. Hopefully there will be a chance to see them again on television.
Whatever the season has in store for us I just hope we don’t have to think back to today and the two points we simply threw away.
The teams were,
Bradford City: Aidan Davison, Andy Myers (Claus Jorgensen 82), Mark Bower, Wayne Jacobs, Robert Molenaar, Gus Uhlenbeek, Paul Evans, Andy Gray, Michael Proctor, Danny Cadamarteri, Stephen Warnock. Subs not used: Steve Banks, Paul Reid, Juanjo, Michael Standing.
Burnley: Marlon Beresford, Dean West, Ian Cox, Arthur Gnohere (Steve Davis 63), Mark McGregor (Alan Moore 45), Glen Little, Tony Grant, Paul Cook, Lee Briscoe, Gareth Taylor, Dimitri Papadopoulos (Robbie Blake 45). Subs not used: Nik Michopoulos, Ian Moore.