The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Newport County Saturday 27th April 2024 3:00pm

EFL LEAGUE TWO FIXTURE #46

Saturday 27th April 2024 15:00
Bradford City (9th) vs Newport County (17th)
University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade)

22/23 & 23/24 Results:

13 Aug 2022: Bradford City 2 – 0 Newport County
11 Mar 2023: Newport County 1 – 1 Bradford City
23 Sep 2023: Newport County 1 – 4 Bradford City

Head-to-Head Form: (most recent result first)

Won: 22
Drawn: 9
Lost: 18

Current League Form:

Bradford City: WWWWD
Newport County: LLLLL

NEWPORT COUNTY

After 7 defeats in a row, it’s no surprise manager Graham Coughlan has received the dreaded vote of confidence from Newport County chairman Huw Jenkins. The Welsh sides atrocious run of form has taken them from 11th in the league table and just 2 points off the playoffs (at a time when Bradford City were 5 points below in 15th) all the way down to 17th. Their goal difference has gone from an even 0 to -11 during the process of a slump that has seen 4 defeats at home and 3 away since their last win at AFC Wimbledon way back in mid-March.

Graham Coughlan is already eyeing a ‘summer of change’ at the club after County netted just 3 goals in the space of 7 derisory defeats, and his sides mid-season form might just see him get that opportunity – but he’ll have to make a solid start next campaign, or one can imagine his head will be on the block. Long gone is much of the goodwill that resulted from an FA Cup run that culminated in a 4-2 home defeat against the mighty Manchester United, during which plucky Newport fought from 2-0 down to level the game before United pulled away in the second half. Coughlan, presumably, has little credit in the bank.

Acknowledging that “quality levels need to be better”, Couglan will still bemoan the nature of his sides’ most recent loss – Salford City getting a last minute winner through giant striker Matt Smith, but in truth, Newport County were outplayed and deserved the defeat. Grit alone has not been enough, and even 25 goal midfielder Will Evans has gone off the boil. Despite his tremendous tally, Evans has managed just 1 goal in his last 11 games, whereas earlier in the season he embarked upon two runs of red hot form with 8 goals in 6 games in the opening few games, and 5 in 5 as recently as February. That all looks to have dried up now, though.

Newport’s next highest league goalscorers, Omar Bogle, Bryn Morris and Seb Palmer-Houlden (7 each) have also all struggled for goal recently, with Morris on the ‘hottest’ form with 2 goals in his 8 games. Meanwhile, the back line have been shipping 2 goals per game on average across their 7-game slump, with Crawley Town hammering them 4-0 on their own turf on April 1st.

Now seen as 9/1 underdogs by the bookmakers, Newport County trudge to Valley Parade with no purpose other than to potentially serve as last day spoilers for a side charging up the table.



Newport County 0 – 1 Salford City

BRADFORD CITY

If Newport County fans are praying for the season to limp to a conclusion, the opposite can be said for a Bradford City side that have, for the second time under Graham Alexander, embarked upon a 6-game unbeaten streak in the league. 5 wins and 1 rogue draw, against Grimsby Town of all teams, has been the unlikely catalyst for a fascinating finish, the Bantams charging up on the rails in a bid to steal a playoff spot from stuttering pair Crawley Town and Barrow.

City have already accounted for both Gillingham and Walsall, 2 recent victims of City’s much improved form, not just beating them, but overtaking them and effectively ending both clubs’ hopes for a date at Wembley. The Bantams then had to travel to Barrow and win to have any hope at all of finishing in 7th place, and they managed that, too. Head-to-head, then, one could almost argue Graham Alexander’s men might deserve it.

That has not been the feeling for much of the season, however, as goal-shy Bradford City saw manager Mark Hughes sacked, followed by an extended search for a manager, with it becoming apparent (embarrassingly…) that the first choice gaffer was Danny Cowley – who has failed to cover himself in any glory at all at relegation-threatened Colchester United.

Step in Graham Alexander, then, with very little fanfare and, in truth, very little expectation. Still, the former Salford City and MK Dons manager has quietly pieced together a winning formula or 2 that has relied particularly heavily on players like Jamie Walker and Brad Halliday. Bobby Pointon, once cast aside by Alexander, has shown he is mature enough, and duly grabbed a belting goal at Barrow, before substitute Tyler Smith showed the Bantams do, in fact, have some strength in depth with the winning goal in a lively cameo.

Andy Cook has become a menace in the area once more, particularly in terms of assists to go alongside his healthy tally of 16 league goals, while Calum Kavanagh has already contributed enough to show he could have a good future at Valley Parade alongside Bobby Pointon, a player just 4 months his junior.

Tuesday nights win over Barrow was a tie of extremely high stakes for both sides – but with Barrow on horrible form, City were able to punish them late in the game and grab a vital win and 3 points that keep them in the hunt (just about).

All of that said, though, Saturday afternoons final game of the season is a last ditch effort at glory. City’s fate isn’t in the hands of just 1 team, but 2 – a tough situation to be in, no question. But Graham Alexander will no doubt have his players fired up to win, by hook or crook, and go out on a high regardless of the situation elsewhere…



Barrow 1 – 2 Bradford City

THE BREAKDOWN

1/3: Bradford City
4/1: Draw
9/1: Newport County

Newport County won’t be heading to Valley Parade to roll over and have their tummies tickled. That said, they won’t have the same level of motivation Bradford City and Graham Alexander possess, even in spite of their attempts to snap a 7-game losing skid. Still, this fixture has all the hallmarks of a banana skin. If City try too hard and attempts to force the win are rebuffed – as Newport County almost rebuffed Salford City last Saturday – things could get very frustrating for a freshly buoyed and, frankly, desperate Valley Parade crowd.

Graham Alexander somehow has to convince his players to shut out all the noise, all the distractions, and embrace the chaos that almost always pervades the final fixture card of the season. While the fans in the crowd might have their eyes glued to their phones and ears tuned into wirelesses listening for events elsewhere, all of that will be for nought unless Bradford City can get their part of the job done.

That, of course, is the main focus.

If City do win, they will need favours from elsewhere. Barrow have the nightmare task of entertaining one of the hottest teams in the division in the shape of already promoted Mansfield Town, who might just take their champagne football to Holker Street and play struggling Barrow off the park. That said, Mansfield have done their job already, and are in the enviable position where the outcome of Saturday’s game has next-to-no-relevance. They cannot win the league, all they can do is decide who finishes second and third between themselves and Wrexham. Will that be enough motivation? Remember, even a draw could be a disaster for City given the goal difference situation – they will need Mansfield to win outright.

As for Crawley Town, the Red Devils have dropped out of the playoffs and sit in 8th place. They will have their minds focused on arresting a 4-game winless run and stealing 7th spot by beating 21st place Grimsby Town. Grimsby, like Mansfield Town, cannot achieve anything more this season having scraped together enough points to avoid relegation, but they have still won 3 of their last 5 league ties to get there. City fans will hope Grimsby Town can do to Crawley what they did to the Bantams on April 1st, and that’s grab a point. If they can, the ball is in City’s court.

While the permutations demand very specific outcomes from multiple other fixtures on Saturday afternoon, and while City can control none of it, it’s still nice to be in the situation where this isn’t a simple dead rubber with nothing on the line. If City don’t quite make it, or blow their own chance, at least Graham Alexander has restored some of the pride in a season that will otherwise be remembered as an unhappy one that resulted in protests and (potentially) fewer season ticket sales.

For that, Bradford City fans will surely be somewhat thankful no matter what.

PREDICTION:

Bradford City 3 – 0 Newport County