Valley Parade - Bradford City AFC
Bradford City 3-1 Aston Villa
08/01/13 - League Cup Semi-Final 1st Leg
Att: 22,245
1996, Andy Townsend, Brian Little, AST Computers... It's been far too long since Aston Villa last won a trophy. There have been two final appearances since and in one of the worst seasons in living memory (even worse than last season, somehow) Villa have found themselves just one step away from another Wembley final. Standing in their way is a team from the fourth tier, over two legs, with the decisive tie to be played at Villa Park. What could possibly go wrong here?
Full of hope and optimism Villa's 4,500 allocation sold out comfortably as we descended upon Valley Parade in our droves - As we did at the County Ground and Carrow Road in previous rounds.
Having purchased a ticket and managed to negotiate the time off work I still hadn't finalised my travel plans, but thankfully I was able to jump in the car with the good folks from AVillaFan and travel with the undefeated Loyal Tours. We set off from Pelsall with plenty of beer, plenty of food and plenty of reasons to fully expect to see a victory for our team.
The journey went well, despite a bit of traffic on the M62 and we arrived in Bradford just after 17:30 and parked up about a 20 minute walk from the stadium, which could be seen on the horizon. From here we walked to the Bradford Arms where the Villa supporters were congregated, but after finding it absolutely impossible to get to the bar we got some cans from the shop across the street and joined the party outside.
As we made our way to the ground it became quite apparent that despite their fourth tier status, we weren't visiting a Burton or a Morecambe (with all due respect) - The stadium can be seen for miles around and is almost a monument to happier times for a club that has been in steady decline over the last 10 years. In fact, 1999 was the last time The Bantams finished higher than 10th in any division that they've played in.
With a capacity of 25,000 the stadium has been developed for a club that is expected to be playing at a far higher level than it currently is. The Kop and Main Stand were developed during the club's brief spell in the Premier League and they really are quite impressive. They're both large two tiered stands with the corner filled in and they tower above the other two sides of the stadium - Like Newcastle, but on a smaller scale. We were located in the Midland Road Stand which is a good sized one tiered stand, with a steep rake providing an excellent view of the match. To our left the TL Dallas Stand is the smallest stand in the ground - A strange two tiered stand with a roof supported by pillars. It used to be the away end, but it was given back to the Bradford supporters following a campaign and the away fans were moved at the start of the 2008/09 season.
In the quarter final tie with Arsenal seats were sat in that hadn't been used for over 10 years and there was another big crowd expected for this, even though the corner next to the main stand was empty. This cup run, which has already seen Watford, Wigan and Arsenal knocked out has been a welcome distraction from the doldrums of League Two football for the Bradford supporters who have seen their club collapse since being relegated from the top flight in 2001. By 2004 they were relegated to League One and 3 years later they were in League Two. Absolutely unthinkable for a club with a huge stadium, five figure crowds and an FA Cup to their name. What's even more surprising is that in their 5 seasons in that league, they've not finished higher than 10th, with their League status coming under serious threat in the last two campaigns, where the Bantams have limped to an 18th placed finish.
This season things have been slightly better with City sitting just outside the play off places. Presumably the money generated by this cup run will go a long way to securing the club's financial future and could also give Phil Parkinson some funds to help develop the team and push them back up the Football League ladder.
Despite Bradford's form in this season's competition, Aston Villa still came into the match as hot favourites, having put a nightmare Christmas behind them with a well earned draw at Swansea and victory over Ipswich in the FA Cup a few days beforehand. Bradford came into the match on the back of a 2-0 defeat at Barnet, which followed a goalless draw against Morecambe.
As expected, there was a good atmosphere in the stadium as the teams came on to the pitch, with the stadium close to capacity for one of the biggest night's in Bradford's modern history. It was also a big occasion for Villa, starved of silverware for 18 years and desperate for a Wembley final to provide a distraction from this terrible season.
Villa made a fast start to the match, putting Bradford under pressure and had some early chances to take the lead, but some wasteful finishing and some fine goalkeeping kept the scores level. After weathering the early storm Bradford grew into the game and with just under 20 minutes gone Bradford got a corner which wasn't dealt with and the ball fell to Nahki Wells who put the ball past Given to give the home side the lead. It was a lead that Bradford hung on to until half time, but that was okay as Villa had been behind at the break against Ipswich and after a stern word at half time took control of the game and turned it round.
It appeared the same would happen here as Villa started the second half as if they meant business and laid siege to the Bradford goal. Some outstanding goalkeeping from Matt Duke kept Bradford in the lead as chances came and went for Villa, who fielded a very attacking line up including the likes of Agbonlahor, Weimann, N'Zogbia and Benteke. When Agbonlahor was replaced by Darren Bent (who could buy Bradford's entire team with his weekly wage) was introduced it looked as if it would only be a matter of time until the equaliser came. He had a golden opportunity a few minutes after coming on, but somehow managed to head it over the bar from close range.
With 12 minutes left Bradford won another corner and once again Villa's pathetic excuse of a defence was exposed as the ball was smashed home to double the home side's lead. Bradford then hit the bar before Andi Weimann managed to bring a goal back for Villa, to muted celebrations in the away end. It looked as if Villa would have to settle for only being one goal behind going into the second leg, until another corner resulted in another free header and a third goal for Bradford City in the 88th minute.
As the ball crashed into the back of the net we headed for the exit, absolutely disgusted at the total inability of a Premier League side to defend the simplest set pieces. It was a truly embarrassing result for the club and a new low in a season of lows. Fair play to Bradford, they defended well and knew exactly where to hurt Villa and exposed the defensive weaknesses to devastating effect. They fully deserved the win and I wish them all the best in the highly likely event that they reach the final.
Due to leaving early we got away from the ground easily enough and we were back on the motorway in no time at all. Overall it had been a thoroughly miserable night, although the stadium itself is an excellent venue, especially when packed to the rafters. I wouldn't be opposed to revisiting, but hopefully under better circumstances.
The Kop
TL Dallas Stand
Main Stand
Teams line up
Panoramic view of Valley Parade
