Match Thread Bradford City V Grimsby Town: Saturday 1st April @ 1.00pm

League Two Fixture #38

Saturday 1st April 2023 13:00
Bradford City (7th) vs Grimsby Town (15th)
Valley Parade (AKA University of Bradford Stadium)

Most Recent Results:

1: Bradford City 2 – 0 Colchester United
2: Walsall 0 – 0 Bradford City
3: Newport County 1 – 1 Bradford City
4: Bradford City 2 - 2 Hartlepool United
5: Bradford City 0 – 0 Carlisle United

Form: DDDDW

1: Grimsby Town 1 – 0 Rochdale
2: Sutton United 0 – 1 Grimsby Town
3: Mansfield Town 0 – 0 Grimsby Town
4: Grimsby Town 1 – 1 Walsall
5: Crawley Town 1 – 1 Grimsby Town

Form: DDDWW

Head-to-Head Results:

Head-to-Head Form: DWWDD

10 Aug 2019: Grimsby Town 1 – 1 Bradford City
08 Feb 2020: Bradford City 1 – 1 Grimsby Town
22 Dec 2020: Grimsby Town 1 – 2 Bradford City
10 Apr 2021: Bradford City 1 – 0 Grimsby Town
22 Oct 2022: Grimsby Town 0 – 0 Bradford City

Head-to-Head Results (All Time):

Won: 29
Drawn: 17
Lost: 18

Biggest Margin of Victory:

20 Apr 1955: Bradford City 4 – 0 Grimsby Town
01 Feb 1969: Grimsby Town 1 – 5 Bradford City
09 Jan 1979: Grimsby Town 5 – 1 Bradford City

For Better or Worse:
First Half of the Season vs Second Half of the Season Analysis

Walsall: WIN followed by DRAW
Newport County: WIN followed by DRAW
Hartlepool United: WIN followed by DRAW
Carlisle United: DEFEAT followed by DRAW
Grimsby Town: DRAW followed by ???

Results so far: The second half of the season has seen a regression by 1 point



Grimsby Town 2022/23:
Paul Hurst masterminded a phenomenal FA Cup run that saw The Mariners see off all of Southampton, Luton Town, Burton Albion, Cambridge United, and Plymouth Argyle!

All good things come to an end, and for Paul Hurst and his Grimsby Town side, their fantastic FA Cup exploits were ended by an abrupt 5-0 hammering at the hands of Premier League outfit Brighton and Hove Albion. Ironic, considering their superb run started with a 5 star display against League One promotion hopefuls Plymouth Argyle – Grimsby smashed the South Coast outfit 5-1 back in November!

While Grimsby Town's league campaign hasn't been nearly as successful, Hurst's men seem to have been buoyed by their giant slaying exploits lately, and have lost just 1 league game in their last 10 outings. That sole defeat, against Carlisle United, stands amid a run of 3 wins and 6 draws – an unwelcome statistic for a Bradford City side currently stick in a rut of stalemates themselves.

Grimsby Town's current run of 3 straight League Two draws continue a trend that has seen Grimsby not only dropping points to the teams at the bottom end of the table, but also refusing to lay down for those at the top. The Cumbrians aside, Grimsby Town have taken a point a piece from Mansfield Town and Leyton Orient, while also defeating both Northampton Town and Sutton United – both away from home.

But while a second draw against Bradford City looks a likely outcome given both sides' recent propensity to end with honours even, it's worth noting that Grimsby Town have only managed 2 draws away from home all season. 8 wins and 8 defeats suggest an unpredictable outfit on the road, as likely to win as lose; but not lately.

While the Mariners had a pretty miserable late October-early December period that saw them drop no fewer than 6 defeats in 10 league games, Paul Hurst's men have since shored up their defence and become a much hardier side in the process.

Top scorer Harry Clifton (7) has been an observer in a couple of games lately, before returning to the fray in tonight's 1-1 draw with Crawley Town – and the midfielder duly capped his return to the starting XI with a goal. Behind him, defensive midfielder (and penalty maestro) Gavin Holohan (4) and enigmatic, energetic frontman John McAtee (4) vie for second spot in Grimsby Town's scoring ranks. Veteran forward Ryan Taylor (3), George Lloyd (3), and a whole host of players on 2 goals each have shared the spoils, without anyone outside of goalkeeper Max Crocombe establishing themselves as an ever-present.

Tinkering with line ups seems to be a bit of a forte for manager Paul Hurst, and as such Grimsby Town are more of a 'sum of their parts'-type outfit than a side relying on one or two specialists. Perhaps that also explains Grimsby Town's somewhat erratic form over the course of the full campaign, with their recent run of 3 straight draws their longest period of consistent results all season long.

Who Hurst selects at Valley Parade this weekend is anyone's guess, but certainly at this moment in time, one thing is for sure: Grimsby Town will be competitive, tough-to-beat, and certainly not overawed by the Valley Parade crowd or their promotion-chasing opponents.

Bradford City 2022/23:
Mark Hughes impressed by City side's training after controversial blank weekend

That Crewe Alexandra were able to postpone their fixture with Bradford City due to international call ups remains a bane of contention at Valley Parade, not least because Crewe were able to complete a fixture against Gillingham just 4 days earlier with those exact same players missing.

That Crewe last that tie, 2-1 against Gillingham, might give an indication as to why the Railwaymen were so keen to have the tie against Bradford City pushed back. In the absence of a game, and despite an untimely injury to midfielder Adam Clayton, Mark Hughes has declared himself happy with how his Bradford City side are looking ahead of yet another crucial tie.

But while Bradford City are competing well lately, and have lost just 1 game in their last 13 league games, draws have threatened to put an end to City's automatic promotion hopes. 4 stalemates in a row, including against lowly Hartlepool United and midtable outfits Walsall and Newport County, have slammed the brakes on a period that saw The Bantams win 5 from 6.

A side that have been unable to crack the top 3 for most of the season, Bradford City have looked increasingly professional in approach since the January transfer window – but, crucially, lacking in cutting edge and quality up front outside of prolific forward Andy Cook. With multiple players who have still yet to break their goalscoring duck this season, including Dara Costelloe, Ryan East, Alex Gilliead, Brad Halliday, Adam Clayton, Romoney Crichlow, Matty Platt, Liam Ridehalgh, and Sam Stubbs, the fact is, City just aren't getting the goals required to really force an automatic promotion challenge.

The lowest scorers of any of the top 8 in League Two, there is a sense that Bradford City haven't been able to capitalise on their excellent defensive record often enough to really warrant anything more than a playoff place.

If that is to change, the time is now.

Highlights:

Bradford City 0 – 0 Carlisle United



Crawley Town 1 – 1 Grimsby Town

(highlights unavailable at time of post)

Grimsby Town 0 – 0 Bradford City

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Outlook:

Draws.

Bradford City have had 4 in a row, Grimsby Town have had 3 in a row.

The two sides drew 0-0 earlier in the season in the reverse fixture, and that is in spite of Bradford City's superb away record this season.

A draw, then, looks to be in the offing – and something that Bradford City in particular simply cannot afford.

While Mark Hughes' men have occasionally defied expectations for the better – doing the double over Stevenage and Salford City, for example – the Bantams have gone an entire season without so much as giving anyone besides the aforementioned Stevenage a 3-goal thumping. Games, typically, have been extremely close and competitive, albeit with City warranting a play off position currently by edging out games.

But when things don't go your way, those closely contested games go from wins, to draws – and that's exactly where Bradford City are now.

There is a sense of injustice surrounding the postponement of the Crewe Alexandra fixture, and hopefully Hughes (and the City fans) can use that as a springboard to a late-season push up the table, but unless something significant has come from the recent positivity in training, it's hard to see past 'more of the same' for a City side currently keeping their heads above the play off waterline without achieving much more.

A win would be extremely welcome, almost crucial – but Bradford City have not been making the most of fixtures against sides in the lower half lately, and it's hard to see that changing here. City aren't the best at home, and Grimsby Town aren't in the habit of rolling over, either.

The good news for Bradford City? The Mariners haven't beaten the Bantams since 1998 – a run of 17 straight games!

Odds:

19/20: Bradford City
23/10: Draw
3/1: Grimsby Town

Predicted Outcome (THE VOICE):

Bradford City 0 – 0 Grimsby Town