Watford 4 Bradford City 2: Bantams continue to show improvements despite exit

EIGHT years after their last appearance in the FA Cup third round, Bradford City were hoping for better.

A defeat and a negligible boost to the Valley Parade coffers due to just 8,935 being tempted through the Vicarage Road turnstiles meant it was a far from dream return to what is traditionally regarded as one of the highlights of the football calendar.

But, thanks to a battling display and a late surge that came within a linesman’s flag of giving Watford a nervy finish, League Two Bradford were at least able to return north with their pride intact and an increased belief that a faltering league season can be turned round in the coming weeks.

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On loan midfielder Ricky Ravenhill said: “Watford did a professional job on us. Sometimes you can catch these teams napping but they put out a strong team and gave us a good game. We had a go but it just wasn’t enough. I feel we can take confidence from how we played despite losing.”

City’s two goals came through James Hanson and Nahki Wells, the latter’s 88th minute strike being followed a little over 60 seconds later by Ross Hannah finding the net only for the ‘goal’ to be ruled out for offside.

Had that decision, which looked debatable, not gone against Bradford then the subsequent five minutes of stoppage time could have yielded an upset.

Ravenhill, who expects a decision this week from parent club Notts County as to whether he can extend his stay at Valley Parade until the end of the season, added: “We did give them a bit of a fright at the end, Ross must have been close to being onside.

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“The good thing is I can see how much things have changed for the team, even since I first arrived.

“My first game was against Rotherham (when City lost 3-2 at home in November) and it was clear the lads had been in something of a drought.

“They didn’t think things were going to go their way at times.

“But now things are different. Teams are starting to fear us and I personally feel we can beat anyone on our day. That is a big change.

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“We always had the players but now there is confidence. There is no reason why we can’t get higher in this league.”

City’s hopes of a first third-round win since Crewe Alexandra were beaten at Gresty Road in December 1999 were snuffed out by two goals in three minutes from Craig Forsyth just before the hour mark.

Already trailing 2-1, Bradford fell further behind when Forysth tapped in from close range after latching on to a scuffed shot from Mark Yeates. It was a chance the Hornets winger could not miss but the same could not be said about his second strike just three minutes later.

A sweeping Watford move that originated from a City corner saw John Eustace, after riding a cynical attempt to trip him up by Craig Fagan, send a delightful ball for Forsyth to chase.

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Thanks to most of the Bantams players being marooned upfield, Forsyth was in yards of space but his finish to beat McLaughlin from just outside the penalty area was still of the highest quality.

With more than half-an-hour remaining, the fear among the 1,206 visiting fans was that their side could be in for an almighty drubbing.

Credit, therefore, must go to Bradford for not imploding as they saw out the rest of the game without further damage being done.

They also had the satisfaction of netting the final goal of the tie with two minutes to go when Wells bundled in a Charlie Taylor cross.

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That was followed by Hannah being denied by an offside flag, which although frustrating did allow City manager Parkinson a quiet sense of satisfaction at the final whistle.

He said: “We have been trying to build a team of strong players, both mentally and physically.

“To play for Bradford City, you need to be strong in those departments. We are getting that now, as we showed by keeping going against Watford.”

Much of Parkinson’s satisfaction with City’s efforts will have stemmed from the first half, when for all-but 10 minutes the League Two club were level-pegging with a home team who sit 48 places higher in the football pyramid.

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They were good value for the parity, too, with a hard-working display ensuring Watford were unable to play the fast tempo football preferred by manager Sean Dyche.

Unfortunately for City, two lapses in concentration meant a lot of that industry and endeavour was undone.

The first gaffe came in the third minute when sloppy marking meant Troy Deeney was left unmarked to head in Marvin Sordell’s inviting cross from close range.

It was a similar story for Watford’s second goal five minutes before the break as Sordell was presented with far too much space after being found by a deft pass from Yeates.

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With the Bantams defence slow to react, Sordell showed his class with a clever turn that left Andrew Davies wrong-footed and allowed the Hornets man to fire under McLaughlin.

The most galling part of falling behind for a second time was just how well City had played in between the two Hornets goals.

During those 37 minutes, Bradford had also grabbed a goal of their own through Hanson, the striker finishing with aplomb from a tight angle after Ravenhill’s shot had initially been blocked by Carl Dickinson.

Hanson could have had a second just before Sordell made it 2-1 but headed over and it proved a big miss as Watford reasserted their authority after the break to end City’s Cup adventures for another year.