Wembley thoughts on ice as Bantams eye revival

NIALLE Rodney insists it is too soon for Bradford City to start thinking about a possible Wembley trip despite claiming a second major Johnstone’s Paint Trophy scalp in as many rounds.

The Bantams are in the Northern Area quarter-final thanks to a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Huddersfield Town at the Galpharm Stadium.

After holding the League One promotion chasers to a 2-2 draw in 90 minutes, City held their nerve to triumph 4-3 with Rodney netting the all-important spotkick.

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It means Bradford, who also knocked out Sheffield Wednesday in the first round, are now eagerly looking forward to Saturday’s draw as the club look to take another step towards the final.

Rodney, however, is adamant that no one in the Valley Parade squad is yet thinking about the possibility of City running out at the rebuilt national stadium for the first time.

He said: “It is too soon to think about getting to the final. It is not something to talk about at this stage.

“As for the next round, I don’t really mind who we get. Whoever we draw, it will be a great occasion and a chance to get another win.

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“The most important thing is we take it into our next game. We have to believe in ourselves.

“A Cup run can do all sorts for a city and a team. That is what we have to focus on, not looking too far ahead.”

Luke Oliver’s header and Antony Kay’s own goal were enough for City, who sit 42 places below Huddersfield in the Football League, to take the tie to penalties against all the odds, cancelling out strikes by Peter Clarke and Tommy Miller.

Over the 90 minutes, Bradford’s display was deserving of reward as they looked incisive on the break while putting in a heroic shift at the back against a Town team who dominated possession for long periods.

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Rodney said: “We showed against a good League One team what we are capable of doing.

“It was similar to how we did against Leeds United in the Carling Cup, when we were unfortunate to lose.

“Performances like that show what we can do. The problem has been our inconsistency.

“Our spirit is good and the new manager is instilling a hunger in the squad. We want to be successful, just like he does.”

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City’s triumph was all the more unexpected due to the poor start they had in the shoot-out as Michael Flynn missed their first spot-kick.

With Lee Novak having already scored for the home side, Phil Parkinson’s men faced an uphill battle.

However, when Miller then missed from 12 yards, it meant Mark Stewart was able to bring the scores level at 1-1.

Danny Ward then restored Town’s advantage only for Kyel Reid and Robbie Threlfall’s successful penalties to sandwich a missed effort by Kay.

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That set the scene for Rodney, who was so eager to take the 10th and final scheduled spot-kick that he ran from the centre circle.

The teenage striker, making his first appearance since Parkinson succeeded Peter Jackson as City manager, due to an ankle injury, said: “I have not had a long career but I hope a night like we had at Huddersfield can be the first of many. To be fair, we deserved to win. The fans were unbelievable and it was great to get a derby win for them. It is incredible that 2,500 of them were here to cheer us on.

“Scoring the winner was brilliant. As a striker, we love the glory so that was great as well.

“I said straight away when the game ended that I wanted to take the fifth penalty. Maybe it is a striker thing, I don’t know.

“But I felt confident.

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“As I walked up to take it, I still felt the same. I couldn’t wait to get it in the back of the net, which is why I ran to take it rather than walked like most players do.

“I had seen Kay miss for Huddersfield so knew what was at stake. I thought to myself, ‘This is what being in football is about’.

“I am a young lad with a lot to learn so it was a special moment.”

As enjoyable a night as Tuesday was for Bradford, it was a different story for their derby rivals with Town manager Lee Clark unhappy at the goals his side conceded.

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He said: “Losing a shoot-out is one of those things, I have told the lads not to worry about it. But I am more worried about the type of goals we are conceding.

“They were two very basic goals to give away and for the second home game running we had to score three goals to win it.

“I wanted to go through but if this is a wake-up call to get us going again on Saturday (when Stevenage come to the Galpharm) then that is not a problem.”

Town suffered a couple of injury problems in the derby defeat with Oscar Gobern (dead leg) and Liam Cooper (back) having to be substituted.