Bradford City (U18s) 1-0 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

Bradford City (U18s) 1-0 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

EFL Youth Alliance

Saturday 12th February 2022

This game is one of those that can be boxed in the category of 'one to forget' for Doncaster Rovers youngsters because two red cards in the same incident which saw them reduced to nine players, compounded by conceding a late goal, resulted in a 1-0 defeat at Bradford City.

Oliver Sukiennicki struck that all-important winner when he was afforded too much time and space inside the box and fired emphatically past Luke Chadwick with just under 15 minutes left to play.

It put an end to some dogged defensive resilience by Donny who'd been penned in for long spells by a determined Bradford outfit who, despite not actually crafting that many clear-cut chances, were good value, played positively and dominated things.

They were impressive enough and there certainly isn't much between them and fellow title contenders Grimsby Town and Lincoln City - and I suspect the battle to be crowned champions is going to go down to the final day of the season.

However, the result (to some extent) hinged on that 'double dismissal' by a less-than-impressive referee just past the hour mark when both Michael Nesbitt and Dan Wilds were given straight red cards for their part in a melee sparked by a late tackle from a Bradford player who was also dismissed.

Had that not happened then the game may well have ended goalless.

Match Report & Thoughts

Rovers made the trip to West Yorkshire on the back of what by all accounts was a 'reality check' in the shape of a 3-0 defeat to Grimsby Town last Saturday.

That game is one of just a handful which I've not been able to get to this season but the general gist from those who were present is that the lads were comfortably beaten; albeit by opponents who took full advantage of the rule where teams are allowed to name up to three first-year pro's in matchday squads for EFL Youth Alliance fixtures.

Bradford didn't quite go to the same extremes as the Mariners and instead opted to field only one 'over-age' player in Oliver Sukiennicki who, coincidentally, dominated the reverse fixture earlier in the season.

Rovers' line-up was as experimental as it was youthful - largely because injuries and other absenteeism have stacked up en masse over the past fortnight.

Corie Cole, Tavonga Kuleya, Jack Raper, Jack Goodman and Faris Khan are all sidelined through injury at present, Bobby Faulkner is on loan at Frickley Athletic, and to compound matters further two players who were initially named in the starting xi for this game - Will Hollings and Ethan Harrison, were forced to pull out during the warm-up! As a consequence, it paved the way for starts for U16s duo Will Flint (who can operate either in defensive-midfield or as a centre-back) and Harry Wood (who usually plays in an attacking position).

Although the weather forecast suggested there was a 90% likelihood of a torrential downpour, it never came to fruition - although the game itself proved to be unpredictable, 'quirky' and strange in many respects; not least because both teams actually wore their away kits!

If you thought that Donny's injury troubles couldn't get any worse than they already were, then you guessed wrong because within only five minutes of kick-off, Tom Parkinson appeared to take a knock to his ankle - and following treatment from the physio it soon became apparent that he wouldn't be able to continue so Alex Fletcher entered the fold as his replacement.

Bradford enjoyed a lot of the early possession - a trend that would continue throughout; partly because Rovers struggled to retain the ball effectively or string any more than just a handful of passes together at any one given time. When the ball went forward, it often came back quickly and they found themselves being penned in as a consequence. It meant Will Flint in particular, in midfield, had to be combative, focused and work hard out-of-possession to prevent any danger from coming through the middle. He did that job reasonably well.

It was evident from an early stage that the referee's judgement wasn't the best too. Some gamesmanship was at play on occasions as plenty of pushes and barges went unnoticed and there were lots of inconsistencies in his officiating. Some players deserved cautions for the way they spoke to him, and when he awarded Bradford one free-kick around 25 yards out on the quarter-hour mark, the ball was curled harmlessly over the upright by Sukiennicki in a chance that he'd probably want to forget.

The Polish youth international soon forced Rovers 'keeper Luke Chadwick into a stop with a well-driven effort from the edge of the box which was kept out comfortably and Bradford's best players during these early moments were No.11 (out on the left) and No.5 who was popping some fine balls about and switching play to good effect. The Bantams certainly looked creative but already by this stage, Rovers were getting players behind the ball and defending doggedly.

Openings remained hard to come by for the hosts and although they began to use the width more often and deliver cut-backs into the box from high up on their right flank, the various times they attempted this tactic, Charlie Petch proved to be something of a 'man mountain' as he intercepted the danger, made clearances and even blocked a couple of shots. He performed strongly and admirably.

As the half-hour mark came and went, the Bantams began to get Sukiennicki on the ball more and his gliding footwork had Donny defenders back-peddling on a couple of occasions though he wasn't quite able to carve a gilt-edged opening for himself. His threat and presence was noted, nonetheless, as was that of Bradford's No.9 who whistled a shot narrowly over the target prior to half-time.

Rovers then conjured up their first opportunity of any significance just a few moments before the interval when Tom Henson intelligently flicked the ball on for Owen Scattergood who ran at a defender and hit a low drive straight at the home 'keeper. It was a half-chance from nothing; it wasn't much, but it was the best that anyone wearing a blue shirt managed during the opening 45 minutes.

Right on the stroke of the whistle, Bradford tried their luck down the right channel once more but Petch was there again to make a crucial interception before Chadwick smothered the resulting loose ball as the game remained goalless.

The first half performance by Rovers was a mixed bag. The out-of-possession shape and structure to 'dig in' and constantly thwart a really good team was good, but the loose passing and being unable to retain the ball effectively needed to improve. Bradford had been very much on top and the more inventive and dangerous - despite not creating a vast plethora of openings or anything.

A tactical change was made prior to the second half with Michael Nesbitt replacing Alex Wolny whilst a change in shape aimed at better nullifying Bradford's game-plan.

Rovers though needed to remain resilient during the early stages after the re-start as the hosts caught a second wind where they enjoyed a further spell of pressure and probed more intently for a breakthrough. They went close on two or three occasions as a couple of headers from set-plays were glanced narrowly wide whilst the Bantams' No.10 also smashed at a loose ball and unleashed a low shot which bounced just wide of the target.

With the game still being 11v11 at this stage and just past the hour mark, there is a possibility that Rovers might have been able to dig in, stay resolute and earn what would have been a valuable and very hard-earned point. If the referee had also awarded Nesbitt a free-kick when he was hacked down midway inside the hosts' half, who knows what might have followed from the resulting set-piece, but instead he waved play on much to the annoyance of those donning blue shirts!

Within a couple of minutes of that incident, however, the referee was sounding his whistle for a separate challenge on Nesbitt which sparked the melee that led to three red cards being shown.

Nesbitt floated a ball down the left-wing and was recklessly crashed into at speed by Bradford's No.5 quite late - and it resulted in an angry confrontation between the pair, whilst others from both teams promptly got themselves involved in the subsequent 'handbags'.

Being right next to the incident as it occured, it's fair to say that a better official (certainly one capable of handling the game better!), might have dished out yellow cards as punishment. 

Instead, having wrongly asked to speak to Bradford's No.2 initially (who promptly told him he'd not committed the foul), the referee proceeded to dish out three red cards - one to Nesbitt, one to Dan Wilds and one to the Bradford player who'd actually committed the foul. It meant Rovers had nine players; Bradford 10, and there was still just shy of half-an-hour to go!

In my opinion, bookings and a stern lecture would have sufficed for everyone - and it sort of summed up the referee's overall performance that, even after consultation with his linesman for 30 seconds, he asked for the wrong Bradford player anyway! It wasn't inspiring, nor was the fact that he should have dished out yellows previously for other things which he let go, and his handling was questionable and inconsistent throughout the entire game. He hadn't dished out any other cards, bar one for a tackle by Charlie Petch in the first half, up to this point.

The contentious fiasco led to close to a five-minute stoppage as the official insisted on the three players being out of sight of the pitch before he'd let things resume - and it impacted what remained of the game despite a magnanimous effort by Rovers who were now skippered by Jak Whiting.

Whiting was soon in the thick of the action at both ends as he headed narrowly over the upright from Wood's set-piece cross on 73 minutes before he put his body on the line to block a powerful effort from a Bradford player as the hosts pressed for a breakthrough.

Petch continued to be dominant at the back, showing an awful lot of defensive resilience (and also looking composed with the ball at his feet under pressure), and even when Rovers needed their last line of defence, Chadwick got down well to keep out a drive from an opposing striker.

The pressure had intensified by virtue of Bradford having an extra man following the red cards, however, and it eventually told at a set-piece on 77 minutes. Sukiennicki got into the box and was played the ball and despite a seemingly tight angle, he had the time and space to bring the ball onto his favoured foot and hammer a vicious strike past Chadwick to finally put his team ahead.

It was what Bradford deserved based on possession and territorial dominance over the course of the game up to this point but harsh on Rovers who'd defended resolutely and now had a steep hill (nearly as steep as that one at Mansfield!) to climb!

Donny still gave as good as they got during the final quarter-hour or so. 

Wood and substitute Max Adamson, who had earlier replaced Scattergood, both tried to impact things and did okay but they were dealt with well by Bradford's defence. Whiting highlighted every little bit of his worth when he slid in and won the ball superbly on the halfway line deep into added time to spring a quick counter-attack which ultimately fizzled out.

Six minutes into 'two more minutes including injury-time' which remained (work that one out - but it was the referee's own words to the players that there were only two left), Whiting was booked for a tackle and another minute-and-a-half was played before the game was finally brought to its conclusion and everyone was left to reflect on what had unfolded.

There are lots of things to retrospectively think about.

First things first, the referee certainly wasn't good and he was far too inconsistent - and when two players are red carded at 0-0 with less than half-an-hour to go, it's undeniable that that particular decision influenced the outcome! Again, he could have handled things so much better in so many respects because there was way too much he missed (for both teams), he wasn't particularly strong or authoritative; just needlessly 'picky' about certain things (i.e. where throw-in's were taken from) and he didn't put an ounce of confidence in me.

Moaning about the referee put to one side, however, Bradford played well, are a quality team and had good players all over the pitch. Their No.11 (Cole Roberts) played particularly well - especially early on, some of the balls they played on the 'switch' were fantastic in terms of both the initial idea and the accuracy behind them, their right-winger posed a threat, and when they got Sukiennicki involved more after his initially quiet start, it added an extra dimension to the problems which they were able to cause. They dominated the statistics and in that respect deserved to win! They're technically a very good team with some quality players, good to watch, and worthy of their position as title challengers.

From a Rovers perspective, it was one of those occasions where a lot can be learned - especially by younger players such as Will Flint (who 'ratted' quite well) and Harry Wood who also lasted the full 90 minutes. It was exposure to the very top of what the Youth Alliance has to offer and it can only be beneficial for them in the long-term because they'll naturally get better as they get older. Exposure to this calibre of opposition shows them where they need to get to in order to be battling it out to win the league.

Whilst the ball retention wasn't good enough across the team, the out-of-possession work and structure which Rovers showed was good. A special mention must go to Charlie Petch who was outstanding and 'rock solid' at centre-back - even to the point where he unflustered with the ball at his feet and being closed down. Standing at 6ft5, he ought to feel 8ft5 because he can take a lot of pride in how he's played recently. His form has been consistent over the past few weeks since the games programme resumed and long may it continue! I can't recall another youth game where I've seen a defender read the danger so well to the point where they've made so many interceptions and clearances - it must have totalled well over a dozen!

Elsewhere, Jak Whiting was also involved heavily as the game progressed and there are lots of qualities about his attributes which I've mentioned previously and I really enjoy watching him perform.

It was good for Josh Lindley to get a full game for the first time in ages and if he's able to retain his starting place, he'll be hoping to create a positive impression over the coming weeks. Max Adamson will have also learned a few things amidst difficult circumstances during the final half-hour and made a few good contributions where he brought others into things. Tom Henson and Alex Fletcher had quiet games by their standards which primarily down to the fact the team didn't retain possession well enough or get the ball out wide to them at different times to let their qualities shine. Nevertheless, it's minutes and match fitness in the bank for them if nothing else!

Had more players who've featured regularly this season not been injured, or if Will Hollings and Ethan Harrison had not pulled out at the eleventh hour, who knows what impact that could have had; certainly, it was a game where Hollings was sorely missed.

It's immaterial now though. There are plenty of things which need to be digested, talked about and discussed behind-closed-doors and if one thing is for certain it's that next week's opponents, Rotherham United, will be a very different (and more physical) proposition in just about every conceivable way.

Despite the defeat, the performance in this game was better than in the reverse fixture against Bradford about four months ago where the result was beyond doubt before half-time. The lads stayed in the game at 0-0 for much longer this time and whilst they were 'penned in' and undeniably second best, it provides a good scope for learning which can only be a good thing in the long run as they aim to become better players.

Team: Luke Chadwick, Dan Wilds (C), Charlie Petch, Jak Whiting, Tom Henson, Will Flint, Josh Lindley, Harry Wood, Tom Parkinson (Alex Fletcher), Alex Wolny (Michael Nesbitt), Owen Scattergood (Max Adamson). Unused Sub: Tom Chambers.