Bradford City 4 Carlisle United 0: Yeates captures star billing as Parkinson beams at City quality

Phil Parkinson has promised to make Valley Parade ‘a horrible place for visiting teams to come to’ and, if Bradford City’s four-goal demolition of Carlisle United is a guide, his words will come to fruition.
By The Newsroom
Published 12th Aug 2013, 11:04 BST

The Bradford manager was understandably delighted as City put the result beyond doubt with a sparkling first-half display, which featured three goals in a devastating nine-minute spell.

However, it was the quality of the football that will have convinced the home supporters that the Bantams look set for a successful season back in League One following last season’s promotion through the play-offs.

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“The way we started was terrific,” said Parkinson. “It was so important to start in a positive manner and make a statement about how we want to play. We put Carlisle on the back foot from the start and the football we played in the first half was as good as we have seen here for a long time.”

Winger Mark Yeates, a summer signing from Watford, is the new fans’ favourite after putting City in front after 20 minutes with a super angled right-foot shot that flew into the far corner of the net.

Last season’s leading scorer, Nahki Wells, added the second five minutes later after intercepting a header from Paul Thirwell before scoring with an acute angled shot.

Strike partner James Hanson scored the third with 25-yard right-foot shot in the 29th minute to give City a 3-0 half time lead and captain Gary Jones completed the scoring in the 67th minute after taking a pass from Wells.

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Carlisle chief and former Bantams player Greg Abbott conceded: “Man for man, they were tougher, more experienced, had more nous about the game and in the end made us look a really ragged side.”

Bradford City: McLaughlin, Darby, Davies, McArdle, Meredith, Thompson (De Vita 66), Jones, Doyle, Yeates (Reid 70), Hanson, Wells (Connell 83). Unused substitutes: Ripley, Ravenhill, Taylor, McHugh.

Carlisle United: Gillespie, Potts, Thirwell, Livesey, Brough (Black 70) Ambo, Berrett, Noble (Lynch 59), Gillies (Feely 36), Beck, Guy. Unused substitutes: Fleming, Edwards, Symington, Salmon.

Referee: O Langford (West Midlands).

Man of the match: Mark Yeates.