Belief Turns to Conviction – City go ahead of County in the League One table 

Written by Lee Pasquariello  

Fortress Valley Parade strikes again. Tonight was a truly fantastic result for Bradford City, and the statement result I said yesterday that we needed we got. With a hard fought 1-0 win, we are now above Stockport and move into fourth.  

At times this was such a close game. I remember feeling as the first half went on, as well as at half time that there’s actually not much that separates us. Stockport probably edged it as they went forward a bit more than we did, but overall there weren’t many real chances for either team.  

Just like I wrote about yesterday, my main question was over the leadership of the team, and who would take the captaincy for this fixture after the suspension of Max Power. My prediction of Antoni Sarcevic was correct, and I feel it was the right decision from Graham Alexander. Seeing him lead out the team just felt right for a game of this importance.  

The experience of Sarcevic was evident throughout. He understood the exact tempo for a top of the table clash and demanded the same standards from those around him. The goal he scored tonight in the second half was superb, with a volley into the top corner. It’s also the second winner he’s scored this season against Stockport, as he did it in the away fixture!  

Lee Evans came in for Power like I predicted he would, pairing Jenson Metcalfe in the midfield. I don’t think he did too badly today on his first start, but there were signs in the first half that he might not be up to speed with the rest of the team yet, with him misplacing most of his passes. However, to be fair to him, he did improve massively in the second half and his overall performance was much better, as he won a lot of second balls and headers to ensure the team wasn’t over-run when Stockport went forward.  

Although most of the plaudits will go to Sarcevic because of his brilliant winner, I have to once again give a special mention to Curtis Tilt for an outstanding defensive performance.  

Coming up against Stockport is a tough task for a lot of defences in League One, but Tilt was instructed to deal with their dangerous front line. I was very impressed with the way he dealt with the movement of Adama Sidbeh, Stockport’s number 29. To do this until the hour mark, despite picking up a yellow card almost midway through the first half, shows a fantastic piece of composure.  

As I mentioned in the preview piece yesterday, Tilt has the defensive authority, and even without the armband, his ability to stay disciplined whilst on a booking is a key factor as to why we won.  

The club deserves massive credit for reducing the price of tonight’s tickets to just £10, with the aim of boosting the crowd against a big playoff rival. The crowd was a club record for a Tuesday night for many years, with 22,488 in attendance. The atmosphere, especially in the second half, definitely made a difference.  

I’ve said for a while now that Valley Parade is a place teams should dread coming to, and it was easy to see Stockport struggling in the second half because of it. The noise generated at times in the second half around the entire ground was amazing. Overall, it definitely made a difference in getting us over the line.  

Even though it was a totally different game to the one on Saturday, and the 29 shots was not recreated, we showed that we can be resilient and really dig in to find a result. Whilst the first half didn’t offer that much for either side, the belief in the stands and on the pitch for City did not change one bit.  

The mood of the fanbase tonight is one of absolute delight. 2 back-to-back wins at home is exactly what we needed after a tough time, and by taking 3 points and doing the double over another playoff chasing team in Stockport, it sends this message to the rest of the league.  

We are here to compete.  

Our schedule going forward looks much better for us. We play no current playoff sides until April, when we face bolton in the last home game of the season. Between now and then is exactly the time to put a good run together and put ourselves in a really strong position. If we can use both parts of our game that we’ve seen over the last couple of days, such as brilliant attacking domination as well as being able to win a scrappy game, then you would think our playoff aims are truly back on track. 

The belief could be turning into a reality. City are looking up again.