LEAGUE TWO. TUESDAY, 1st OCTOBER 2024.

Bradford Battle Back – Eventually…

Morecambe Manager Derek Adams welcomed one of his former clubs – Bradford City – to the north coast of Lancashire this evening. He would be hoping to show at least their fans – again – what they missed when they sacked him two years ago. Last time they met at this venue, Derek approached the remnants of their support when the game was over and many Bantams’ supporters clearly applauded him, despite City’s  defeat by three goals to nil during the previous ninety minutes.

Morecambe have beaten City six times before and lost ten of twenty-one matches played between the two clubs over the years in various competitions. Brat-fud arrived this evening in lucky thirteenth place in League Two with eleven points after eight games so far. Last time out, they lost the Yorkshire Derby at Harrogate Town by two goals to one. They drew the game before that in a bad-tempered home match which has seen both them and opponents AFC Wimbledon charged with improper conduct by the Football Association. Prior to that, City lost 2-1 at Walsall as well. Morecambe, by contrast, are unbeaten in their last three matches. Although they started tonight’s game ten places lower in the division than their visitors with only three points, their recent form has been very encouraging and with a bit more luck – and some half-decent refereeing – would be comfortably clear of the relegation positions in League Two.

You get the impression that the King of Morecambe still doesn’t know his best starting line-up. On Saturday, I suspect Derek came close to it, with two strikers – Lee Angol and Marcus Dackers – leading the attack, pocket dynamo Adam Lewis in midfield and Kayden Harrack backing him up. But he wouldn’t be able to pick that team today: Harrack was sent-off for dissent and Angol was injured during the Notts County game and hasn’t recovered after having to retire hurt. With two of the club’s better players – Gwion Edwards and George Ray – already incapacitated, Mr Adams would have to make do and mend again tonight. On the plus side, though, Rhys Williams – missing from the squad altogether on Saturday – was back in the starting line-up this evening.

Before giving his thoughts about tonight’s task prior to kick-off, Derek Adams reflected on Saturday’s meeting with Notts County and the `goal that never was’:

“We didn’t get a goal that we were told was over the line by the players on both sides. Unfortunately, it didn’t go for us. That’s happened a number of times this season. People can say that they even themselves out over the season – they don’t: it’s impossible to do that. We’ve got so many big decisions to get back. Are we going to get them back at the end of the season? I don’t think so because they’ve gone now.”

As far as City specifically are concerned, he added:

“We’ll have to be up for it again on Tuesday night. We understand the strengths and weaknesses of Bradford City and we are ready for it. We have to be even better in that penalty area.”

Opposing Manager Graham Alexander would be looking for a change in performance and attitude from his players following defeat at Harrogate last Saturday. He made this pretty damning assessment of the way his men had played there straight after that game:

“We were not up for the challenge today. In the first twenty minutes we gifted Harrogate two goals. To be honest, we were just waiting to concede. We did not press from the front and we did not defend well. The team could have been more composed in possession. It was just not a performance to look back on with any positives.”

It was dry with a strengthening wind as the game kicked-off under the lights this evening in north Lancashire. As the packed away end roared them on, Bradford were first out of the traps. They showed in the first few minutes what they would go on to do all night: move and pass the ball well. But, for all their possession, there was very little end product and the visitors were guilty of overhitting the final pass more often than not. Early in the second half, they must have strung about thirty passes together in the Morecambe half without the team in the red shirts touching the ball even once. At the end of it all though, they got absolutely nowhere and the final ball – into the back row of the home fans as the ball sailed hopelessly too high and too far – was more often than not a complete waste.

Morecambe, on the other hand, put on a classic Derek Adams performance this evening. They were prepared to let the opposition have the ball most of the time; defend in a disciplined manner almost throughout and play on the break. And the first time they broke into the City half and actually attacked – five minutes from the start – they scored. Paul Lewis – who had almost as good a game as outstanding namesake Adam tonight – got away down the Morecambe right and slung a dangerous cross right into the danger area where Bantams’ defender Cheick Diabate contrived to turn the ball past his own goalkeeper, Sam Walker. A minute or so later, Paul Lewis headed Ben Tollitt’s excellent cross from the left just wide of the target. Then the unfortunate Diabate – who seemed to have forgotten which side he was supposed to be playing for – almost scored again for Morecambe after ten minutes. Callum Jones’ defence-splitting pass reached Marcus Dackers via Paul Lewis on the wing and the Bradford defender forced an excellent save from Walker. Tollitt, following up, should have struck the loose ball home but he sent a wild shot over the bar instead of under it from a perfect position in front of goal. It was all hands to the pump for the City defence again after 26 minutes when a Paul Lewis shot was scrambled off the goal-line by Jack Shepherd and then Dackers forced another good save from the visiting goalkeeper just a minute later.

The Shrimps thus showed again what Derek Adams has complained about in the last few games. They could – and should – have scored more than the one goal they had on the board by half time. But poor decision making and sloppy finishing meant that they had to make do with the slimmest of advantages. At the other end, all the visitors had to show for their efforts was a lob by Jay Benn from the Bradford right which went over Stuart Moore in the home goal but also missed the target completely. This was after 38 minutes. Then, just before the break, vastly slimmed-down old stager and Centre Forward Andy Cook headed narrowly wide from a corner.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first. Bradford had most of the ball but Morecambe resolutely kept them out and Stu in the home goal had very few shots to save. He kept out a Calum Kavanagh flick after about two minutes of the restart fairly easily and then denied the same player by holding onto his header in the fifty-fifth minute. For the hosts, Jones’ effort with 56 minutes played forced a tremendous stop from Walker, who managed to palm it away for a corner. Seventy-one minutes were on the clock when the visiting goalkeeper did even better to save another a shot from Tollitt after he had been brilliantly played-in by Dackers. But the Shrimps’ discipline began to slip as the match grew older and – instead of playing their way out of defence as they had done in the first half, they increasingly just booted the ball up the field and saw it immediately returned more often than not. But with twenty minutes left, the Shrimps still led. Then there were just ten minutes left. Then five minutes. Three minutes left. Could they hold out for their first win of the season?

The answer was: no they couldn’t. With only two and a half minutes scheduled to play, the visitors finally equalised. Tyreik Wright slung over a dangerous cross from the Bradford left and Shepherd rose highest in the middle of the goal to head the ball powerfully home.

So that was it: yet another disappointment when it seemed that the Shrimps were just about to get over the line. But their single point means that the team is now unbeaten in four games. Elsewhere tonight, Carlisle lost again – 0-2 at home to Notts County and Accrington also lost; 2-1 at Cheltenham. Morecambe’s next opponents thus remain one place below them at the very bottom of the EFL, albeit with a game in hand. Carlisle are just two points ahead of them in twenty-second place. Bradford, in the meantime, remain thirteenth in League Two.

What did King Derek make of it all? I don’t know because he left it to his assistant, Danny Grainger, to speak to the media after the game. This is what he said:

“To be honest with you, I thought we were excellent tonight. We probably should have been out of sight in the first half. If we had come in at four or five nil, I don’t think anybody could have said anything against it. We were totally dominant in the first half. Overall, we are absolutely gutted in there because I think we fully deserved three points tonight and the game should have been done by half time.”

Morecambe: 25 Stuart Moore; 2 Luke Hendrie; 3 Adam Lewis (8 Harvey Macadam 87’); 6 Jamie Stott; 14 Rhys Williams; 17 Paul Lewis; 18 Ben Tollitt (11 Jordan Slew 82’); 19 Marcus Dackers (9 Hallam Hope 82’); 23 David Tutonda; 24 Yann Songo’o (C); 28 Callum Jones (Y).

Subs not used: 1 Harry Burgoyne; 20 Charlie Brown; 26 Lennon Dobson; 40 Adam Fairclough.

Bradford City: 1 Sam Walker; 3 Lewis Richards; 5 Richard Smallwood (C); 7 Jamie Walker (14 Tyler Smith 82’); 8 Calum Kavanagh (19 Vadaine Oliver 64’); 9 Andy Cook; 12 Clarke Oduor; 17 Tyreik Wright; 24 Jack Shepherd; 27 Jay Benn; 39 Cheick Diabate.

Subs not used: 13 Colin Doyle; 2 Bradley Halliday; 20 Paul Huntington; 21 Olly Sanderson; 23 Bobby Pointon.

Ref: Elliot Bell.

Att: 3,606 (1,017 from Bratfud.)