Missed chances prove costly for the Bantams

FRUSTRATED Bradford City boss Derek Adams couldn’t believe his side’s misfortune as they were sunk by a “sucker-punch” injury-time goal by one of their old boys.

Former City midfielder Matty Lund’s 90th minute header did the damage as the Bantams slipped to defeat in the most heartbreaking fashion.

“We’ve come here and created so many chances – then been done by a sucker punch at the end,” moaned Adams, as the 1,299 travelling Bantams fans went home disasppointed. “We should have scored and haven’t. We have to be more clinical.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Defeat was also especially hard to swallow given that striker Andy Cook came within a whisker of giving the visitors the lead, only to head agonisingly wide from a great position and Adams’s side were left to pay for a string of misses in what proved to be a challenging afternoon.

FRUSTRATED: Bradford City manager, Derek Adams.
 Picture Bruce RollinsonFRUSTRATED: Bradford City manager, Derek Adams.
 Picture Bruce Rollinson
FRUSTRATED: Bradford City manager, Derek Adams. Picture Bruce Rollinson

“It’s a game we dominated,” added Adams. “We created 17 opportunities to 12 and Salford are one of the best teams in the league for creating chances.

“Richard O’Donnell doesn’t have a save to make and their goalkeeper makes two unbelievable ones.

“We have umpteen opportunities to score goals and it was the same last week. We should have scored more and we haven’t. We’ve got to take them.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Cook was denied his fifth goal of the season by two excellent saves from Salford shot-stopper Tom King, but early sub Brandon Thomas-Asante wasted a glorious chance for the hosts when he blasted over when he should have done much better.

Salford City: King, Shephard, Eastham, Ndaba, Touray, Lowe, Lund, Wright (Hunter 60), McAleny (Thomas-Asante 9), Morris, Henderson (Willock 71). Unused substitutes: Love, Hunter, Jeacock, Turnbull, N’Mai.

Bradford City: O’Donnell, Threlkeld, O’Connor, Kelleher, Ridehalgh, Cooke, Watt, Gilliead (Robinson 89), Evans (Sutton 74), Vernam, Cook (Lavery 81). Unused substitutes: Songo’o, Hornby, Sutton, Crankshaw, Cousie-Dawson.

Referee: Jeremy Simpson (Lancashire).

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.