Bradford's Season
THE story of Bradford City’s season so far is one of a club definitely on the rise and a major contender in the race for promotion.
The Bantams arrive at Home Park tomorrow sitting third in the Sky Bet League Two table and with games in hand on the top duo, Swindon Town and Forest Green Rovers.
After starting their campaign with draws against Cambridge and Grimsby, plus a heavy Carabao Cup defeat to Preston, Gary Bowyer’s Bradford got their first win with a 3-0 triumph at home to Oldham, thanks to goals from James Vaughan, Clayton Donaldson and Sean Scannell.
A 1-0 victory at struggling Stevenage came next but then successive defeats to Crewe and Forest Green. Late goals from Donaldson and Paudie O’Connor saw Bradford come from behind and return to winning ways at home to Northampton in early September.
An own goal at Walsall was enough for a 1-0 victory but momentum was halted by a 3-2 loss at Cheltenham. Harry Pritchard, Kelvin Mellor and Zeli Ismael scored the goals in a 3-1 win at home to Carlisle, sparking a five-match unbeaten run that included further victories over Swindon, Morecambe and Crawley.
A home loss to Port Vale ended that sequence but the Bantams returned to the winning train with a 2-0 win over Exeter in a bad-tempered game that saw three red cards. That was three weeks ago and the last league game Bradford played, bowing out of the FA Cup in a replay loss to Shrewsbury in midweek.