The Voice - Match preview #36: Gillingham vs Bradford City Saturday 8th March 2025 3:00pm

EFL League Two Fixture #36
Saturday 8th March 2025 15:00
Gillingham (19th) vs Bradford City (2nd)
Priestfield Stadium

Record:
Games Won: 18
Games Drawn: 17
Games Lost: 23

Last 5:
28 Feb 2023: Gillingham 0 – 2 Bradford City
22 Apr 2023: Bradford City 2 – 2 Gillingham
16 Dec 2023: Gillingham 0 – 2 Bradford City
06 Apr 2024: Bradford City 1 – 0 Gillingham
19 Oct 2024: Bradford City 2 – 1 Gillingham

Gillingham:
Sufficed to say, Gillingham’s decision to replace manager Mark Bonner with the immensely experienced John Coleman has yet to pay dividends. Coleman, who managed Accrington Stanley through a whopping 1098 games across 2 stints at the club, has scarcely been able to achieve anything elsewhere, so the appointment may have been a puzzler from the off. That Coleman now stands at a 1-5-5 win-draw-loss record represents 2 things: Gillingham are now in their least winningest spell of the 24/25 season, but on the flipside a series of draws – especially away from home – have made them somewhat more difficult to beat than during Bonner’s worst run.

That doesn’t make for particularly high praise, though, and Coleman already finds himself under severe scrutiny beneath a fanbase that came into the 24/25 season expecting far, far better than that which has been served up. Last season, Gillingham showed flashes of promotion-worthy form, but a lack of firepower ultimately accounted for them. A 12th place finish was, nonetheless, a platform to build upon – if only they could improve on that goal tally of just 46 goals in 46 league games.

Sadly, Gillingham have only regressed even further in front of goal. Now lying 19th in the current League Two table having scored just 29 goals in 35 league games, Gillingham have not only failed in their pursuit of more goals, but made things worse. Jayden Clarke (7) may have already matched the tally of last season’s top scorer, Connor Mahoney, but there are only two other players with more then 2 league goals this season: Robbie McKenzie (6) and Tim Dieng (3) – and Tim Dieng has since moved on to Cheltenham Town, where he was an un-noteworthy substitute in a 3-0 hammering at Valley Parade on Tuesday night.

Put simply, there are very, very few causes for optimism at the Priestfield. A misfiring squad with an experienced one-club stalwart in the dugout and just 1 win in 15 would make for a depressing situation for a fan of any League Two club – that the club also exited all 3 cups at the very first hurdle makes things even more miserable. At least, then, they’re relatively free from danger of relegation… for now.

Gillingham’s sole win under Coleman came against Morecambe 1-0 at home, and that could yet prove crucial. With signs of a mini-revival at both Morecambe and Carlisle United, Gillingham’s 9 point cushion between themselves and relegation might just be enough; but a few more points certainly wouldn’t harm confidence down in Kent. Turning around the side’s miserable home form would be a great start. Morecambe win aside, Gillingham have failed to win any of their previous 6 games at the Priestfield, although that hasn’t meant they have been easy to beat.

Bromley (0-3) aside, most of Gillingham’s recent home games have been settled by a single goal or less, including against the aforementioned Morecambe (1-0), and, from most recent-to-least recent, Fleetwood Town (1-2), Crewe Alexandra (0-0), Notts County (1-2), Doncaster Rovers (0-1), Cheltenham Town (2-2), Salford City (1-0), Harrogate Town (1-2) and Port Vale (1-0).

Gillingham could then, despite all the gloom, give Bradford City a competitive game. While they lack firepower, they are at least an organised side capable of running most opposition close. The question is, are Bradford City on such good form they can reliably dismantle John Coleman’s side?

Newport County 3 – 1 Gillingham


Gillingham 1 – 0 Morecambe


Bradford City:
Bradford City were at their irrepressible best against Cheltenham Town on Tuesday night, and that is after a slew of changes in critical positions. Bantams fans may be forgiven for being worried after seeing a front three of Lapslie-Mellon-Walker, 3 players who hadn’t been considered key squad members throughout much of February, but boy were those fears eased quickly!

Scarcely has a player worked harder or looked much fitter than Jamie Walker did as he charged down, harassed and harangued a shellshocked Cheltenham Town left flank en route to a pair of assists. Lapslie was the beneficiary of one such Jamie Walker press-and-surge, having already converted a pinpoint cross from left wingback Tayo Adaramola, with Michael Mellon the other recipient of a fine cross. That made it 2 goals in 2 games for the on loan Burnley hitman, but it was his all-round play that stood out. Gifted with an excellent touch as well as a creative mind, he was part of a City side playing with supreme levels of confidence.

What more would you expect from the best ‘Home’ side in the division playing at Valley Parade, though? Personnel changes aside, this was clearly a group of players relishing the opportunity to wow a 15,000+ crowd on a cold Winter’s night under the lights. As Bradford City set their sights on hunting down once-run away leaders Walsall, everything seemed to come up trumps. Results elsewhere were borderline unbelievable, as was City’s all-round performance. On a night where none of City’s promotion rivals were able to win, the Bantams reduced the deficit between themselves and Walsall even further to just 2 points – Carlisle United holding them to a 1-1 draw, while even Derek Adams’ Morecambe chipped in with a 1-0 over AFC Wimbledon. Without getting ahead of ourselves, Bradford City now have an 8 point cushion between themselves and the (now lowly!) playoffs, and a 5 point gap between themselves and 3rd place Doncaster Rovers. For now, then, the title tussle will be a two-horse race with Walsall looking the likelier to cede further ground. It’s a great feeling, and again, built upon a phenomenal defensive record that seems to have imbued the entire squad with a sense of freedom to attack and mercilessly press opposition further and further up the pitch.

At times it felt like every time a Cheltenham Town player received the ball, they were quickly hunted down and isolated. Two or three City players seemed to be on them at all times, and fitness levels throughout the first XI were impeccable. Players like Andy Cook and Antoni Sarcevic have at times propped up Bradford City’s form, but Tuesday night was an example of an entire squad performing at a very high level. That isn’t something that happens overnight, and it isn’t something that should be taken for granted.

Graham Alexander has got every City player, to a man, ready to do a job – and right now, each of them is doing it very well indeed.

Bradford City 3 – 0 Cheltenham Town


Salford City 1 – 2 Bradford City

 

Prediction:
If Bradford City can replicate their performance against Cheltenham Town, Gillingham could be in big trouble. While not a particularly good home side, sitting 19th in the ‘Home’ league table, John Coleman’s men can at least console themselves with the statistical fact that this Bradford City side haven’t been able to match performances at Valley Parade with those on the road. That said, a recent 2-1 come-from-behind win at promotion rivals Salford City followed a previous 1-0 win at Bromley, as well as some impressive outings away from home in the EFL Trophy. Even away from home, then, Bradford City have been far from poor of late.

While a single goal margin of victory remains Bradford City’s most consistent form of victory, the nature of Tuesday night’s demolition job against Cheltenham Town suggests the Bantams have hit their stride. While Gillingham have lost only 4 of their last 10, drawing another 5 and picking up a single win, results against the ‘better’ sides have been a mixed bag. Notts County achieved a 2-1 win at the Priestfield during that stretch, while Doncaster Rovers also picked up all 3 points with a 1-0 win, though neither Walsall (1-1 H) or Crewe Alexandra (0-0 A) could replicate the feat. Coleman will look for his players to be at their dogged, most determined best as they try to stifle the high-flying Bantams, but momentum just isn’t their side.

Drubbed 3-1 by Newport County on Tuesday night courtesy of a Bobby Kamwa hat trick, Gillingham looked ragged and unable to cope with the pace of the Newport County attack. Bradford City’s current front 3 look hungry to make the most of any gaps in the Gills backline, with ex-Gillingham man George Lapslie and Michael Mellon picking up from where the likes of Antoni Sarcevic and Alex Pattison left off. For once, the question for City isn’t so much whether certain players are available; it’s who will step up and seize their chance.

Few City fans will be disappointed to see any combination of Mellon-Sarcevic-Pattison-Lapslie-Walker playing, and that’s a breath of fresh air after recent seasons where the presence of Andy Cook has felt like an all-or-nothing situation.

The pick, then, will be for City to carry on their form from Tuesday night even away from home at a side who will be determined to make themselves tough to beat. With no sense of an imminent spell of good form from Coleman’s men, this feels like more a case of City getting a first half foothold on the score cards and pushing on from there. Given both Barrow and Newport County have been able to put 3 past Gillingham recently (albeit both in home games rather than at the Priestfield), we will back City to do the same here and make another crystal clear statement to their championship and promotion rivals. Time to get excited? Very much so!

Final Score:

Gillingham 0 – 3 Bradford City