Notts County 0-1 Bradford City

Written by Lee Pasquariello

There is nothing better as a football fan than looking at the table and seeing us up there at the top. 

Following our midweek League Cup success, travelling away and securing a massive win keeps the momentum for City going nicely. We are grinding out results, finding ways to win and keep picking up points which are good for us moving on in the season. 

That is exactly what is needed for a team that is capable of a promotion push. Finding a way to win even when you aren’t at your best. While we can absolutely celebrate being up there, there is still room for improvement, and now is the perfect time to look into this seeing as we are winning. 

The first half for me in this game was overall very poor, and that’s because absolutely nothing happened and it never got going. We were slow, passive and lacked any real sense of urgency. It felt like watching a team that were just waiting for something to happen rather than making it happen. 

A concern I have of this City team right now is the same issues keep occuring. Firstly, Graham Alexander’s midfield experiment pairing of Antoni Sarcevic (who was lucky to remain on the pitch by the way) and Callum Connolly is simply not effective enough. There’s not much creativity, there’s gaps everywhere, and it’s having an effect on our front line. 

Secondly, Jake Beesley once again is asked to lead the line on his own but has absolutely no support, and the service to him has not been good for him either. So this means he spends most of his time chasing isolated balls and fighting solo battles. 

Leaving Stephen Humphrys on the bench felt quite harsh today. He is the exact type of forward that would thrive alongside Beesley, and provide the pace and linkup we really miss. Leaving him on the bench when Beesley seriously needs some support just seems a bit of a strange choice. 

The second half however was a little bit better from City and much like what we’ve seen so far this season. We had the better of the chances, and looked like a team who wanted it more. Thankfully the winner came in the second half through George Pratt. His fantastic volley was the least City deserved, and it set us up to get all three points. 

In reality today’s performance felt similar to last week’s. Not pretty, but the main thing is we got the job done. There is room for tactical improvement, but at the end of the day, 3 points are 3 points.