The Voice - Match preview Bradford City vs Salford City Saturday 17th August 2024 3:00pm

EFL League Two Fixture #2
Saturday 17th August 2024 15:00
Bradford City vs Salford City
University of Bradford Stadium

Record:
Games Won: 4
Games Drawn: 2
Games Lost: 5

Last 5:
15 Oct 2022: Salford City 0 – 1 Bradford City
22 Nov 2022: Salford City 1 – 0 Bradford City
01 Jan 2023: Bradford City 3 – 2 Salford City
23 Jan 2024: Bradford City 1 – 1 Salford City
13 Apr 2024: Salford City 1 – 2 Bradford City

Salford City:


Whether preseason outings matter or not is often a talking point this early in the season, but Salford City’s 5-2 defeat to non-league Rochdale in their final friendly fixture did not illicit much positivity from manager Karl Robinson. Describing the defending that led to many of the 7 goals as ‘schoolboy’, Robinson also said he felt the ‘quality wasn’t there’ and that none of the players had the right to knock on his door demanding a start in the first fixture proper against recently relegated Port Vale.

Things did not improve when Vale raided the Peninsula Stadium for a full complement of 3 points this past Saturday, running out 2-0 winners as Robinson looked on from afar while serving out the last two games of a touchline ban. First team coach Alex Bruce fielded the questions in the wake of that defeat, and pointing to some of the positives, in particular the young players that came in and committed themselves well. Tosin Olapade (19, Right Back), Liam Humbles (20, Central Midfield), Kelly N’Mai (20, Attacking Midfield), and Junior Luamba (21, Forward) were all issued shout outs, and used as evidence of a thriving academy system at the club. The open play was described as even with few saves made by either goalkeeper from open play, but Salford’s undoing came courtesy of a pair of set pieces they failed to defend.

Port Vale midfielder Ben Garrity was the beneficiary, netting both goals. Garrity got his first after reacting to a save from a Ben Heneghan’s header from a Ronan Curtis free kick right before half time, before adding a second in the 66th minute when he powered home a header from a Ronan Curtis corner.

In that game, Vale managed just 2 shots on target from a possible 8 efforts on goal, and ultimately deservedly lost.

Fast forward to Tuesday evening, and the same scoreline would befall Salford City in the EFL Cup – another 2-0 home defeat, this time by Doncaster Rovers, saw them crash out of the tournament in the first round and once again they registered just 2 shots on target – from a total of 19 efforts on goal this time. The typical composure exuded by veteran Billy Sharp as he took his time before slotting home the first goal was on full display as he looked to have scored the only goal of the game on the 21st minute, before Luke Molyneux put the tie to bed in the 91st when he latched on to a long ball forward and finished off a quick, direct counter attack.

Alex Bruce again fielded the questions after 9 changes had been made to the starting line-up, and the First Team Coach felt the performance was much better than on Saturday afternoon. Bemoaning a handball on the line that wasn’t spotted, Bruce felt the game could have gone in a different direction had that been awarded, but felt the play was much better in the middle of the park.

Looking forward to the Bradford City game, Bruce described it as another exciting game against another good team, pointing out they had had a tough opening run of fixtures.

No panic, then, but going down 0-4 on aggregate across 2 home games against League Two opposition will be of major concern for Karl Robinson and his assistant.

On to Saturday, then, it will be interesting to see what sort of side Robinson puts out. The team that appeared to play the better football in midweek consisted of more experienced players on the whole, but Robinson may not wish to bomb out so many young players so early in the season.

Cole Stockton (signed from Burton Albion), who started last Saturday, is likely to start up front at Valley Parade this weekend, while new boy Dan Chesters (signed from West Ham) will try to challenge the experienced Conor McAleny after catching the eye on Tuesday night. The likes of Ben Woodburn (signed from Preston), James Chester (signed from Barrow), and Tom Edwards (signed from Stoke City) will all look to compete for places against a bevvy of younger players that started last weekend’s league game, and will give Robinson pause for thought.

Still, no wins, no goals, and a heavy defeat in their final preseason friendly does not make for a start Karl Robinson will look back on fondly. Onwards and upwards will be the motto, and performances will be demanded from those players who have thus far underperformed. Can they right the ship at Valley Parade, or will the Bantams compound Salford’s misery?

Salford City 0 – 2 Port Vale



Salford City 0 – 2 Doncaster Rovers



Bradford City:

Bradford City made the perfect start to their league campaign when they bested preseason title favourites MK Dons down at Stadium MK last Saturday, running out eventual 2-1 winners. The Bantams had the lead after just 3 minutes when Alex Pattison unleashed a fierce drive from outside the area that beat on-loan Canadian goalkeeper Tom McGill all ends up, before an own goal 2 minutes later must have had the Brighton loanee fearing for the scoreline!

Some terrible defending saw MK Dons fail to clear the ball on several occasions, before Tyreik Wright’s cross from the left was sliced into his own net by defender Sam Sherring. 2-0 up after 5 minutes, and the travelling faithful may have been expecting a rout. Unfortunately, that would not materialize, the only other goal of the game coming when Alex Gilbey stripped Brad Halliday for pace, before finishing neatly to half the deficit.

The game would then become open, with both sides having chances to extend the scoring, only for the scoreline to stay the same.

A great win, then, even if the performance itself was open to improvement. The Bantams then travelled to Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup first round and must have been confident of a win. Unfortunately, things did not go to plan. Grimsby Town striker Donovan Wilson opened the scoring on the 36th minute after captain Richie Smallwood had earlier blazed a penalty over the bar, compounding City’s first half misery. City’s defending was simply not up to scratch for that goal, but it was arguably Smallwood’s miss that had given the Mariners a boost of confidence.

Grimsby could have doubled their lead when former York City and Halifax Town man Kieran Green forced a solid save from Sam Walker, but it was Bradford City who would get the next goal. Bobby Pointon and Clark Oduor combined neatly down the left after Grimsby failed to clear their lines, and Oduor’s low cross evaded goalkeeper Jake Eastwood, leaving Andy Cook with an easy close-range finish. 1-1 it would finish, then, and penalties would be needed to separate the 2 sides after 90 minutes’ play.

Unfortunately, despite some quality penalties, The Bantams would lose 9-8 with Brad Halliday and Neill Byrne the unfortunate pair to miss their spot kicks, with Kieran Green the only player from the 10 Grimsby Town penalty takers to miss theirs. Converting 9 straight penalties was the ticket for the Mariners, leaving Graham Alexander with some thinking to do ahead of the club’s first home game of the campaign.

Alex Pattison was rested on Tuesday evening and will hopefully be raring to go on Saturday afternoon, while goalscorer Andy Cook had to be called upon after a head injury to Vadaine Oliver. Calum Kavanagh, Richie Smallwood, Brad Halliday, Neill Byrne and Aden Baldwin are the only outfield players to have made 2 starts for City across the early games, with Sam Walker also operating between the sticks.

Clark Oduor will have done his hopes of getting his first league start of the season no harm at all with an industrious display away at Grimsby on Tuesday evening, though it remains to be seen who he might dislodge – all of Antoni Sarcevic, Alex Pattison, Calum Kavanagh and Tyreik Wright occupy positions he might favour. Jamie Walker, too, will be pushing for minutes, and centre back Jack Shepherd will try to push Ciaran Kelly out of that left-most centre back slot.

Two players that will be delighted to be up-and-running in the goalscoring stakes are Alex Pattison and Andy Cook. Two vital cogs in the Bradford City machine, Pattison in particular will have high hopes for a big season after spending most of last campaign out with injury. Bobby Pointon, too, will be looking to make an impact when he is allowed off the leash, as he did against Grimsby Town late on – he was not, however, brought off the bench at Stadium MK on Saturday afternoon.

MK Dons 1 – 2 Bradford City



Grimsby Town 1 – 1 Bradford City

 

Prediction:

Graham Alexander is undoubtedly the happier of the two managers that will meet at Valley Parade this Saturday, his side having claimed a big win in their first league fixture, and while they were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Grimsby Town, the side remain unbeaten across 90 minutes. Graham also has two of his most attacking assets on the scoresheet already, and will be hoping players like Sarcevic, Oduor, Walker and Kavanagh can start chipping in as well.

Salford City, on the other hand, have lost both their opening fixtures 2-0, meaning they have obviously failed to score, and it hasn’t looked much better at the other end of the field either. A back line that has been susceptible to set pieces and long balls already, Karl Robinson’s Salford are yet to find their feet, and their starting XI was anything but settled across their first league and cup fixtures. Robinson may shuffle the pack, but it’s clear from his comments after a 5-2 defeat to Rochdale in preseason as well as the results that have followed that he hasn’t figured out his best XI as yet. That will need to be addressed immediately and without fail if they are to start picking up results.

Bradford City, whose squad remains largely the same as it was last season (save for numbers, where Alexander has been able to trim the fat), will feel much the more settled side coming into this tie. Supporters will have a better idea of who will (or should) be starting, and they’ll know what many of the players on display can deliver. That doesn’t seem to be the same for Salford, who don’t appear to be as ready at this early stage of the season as they otherwise might be.

Still, Salford City have signed some decent players with creditable reputations, and it won’t be too long before they are competing better. Players like Conor McAleny, Jon Taylor, and Cole Stockton will need to drag their side up by the bootstraps, and all have the experience and pedigree to do so.

But while Salford City are out of sorts and manager Karl Robinson is struggling to get to grips with his Ammies outfit, Bradford City will be favourites to win. With key players having already opened their accounts, City will hope to outscore Salford even if they are able to register their first goal of the new season. The pick will be a 3-1 win for the home side, even if aspects of the Bantams’ game aren’t quite at the levels they might be soon.

Final Score:

Bradford City 3 – 1 Salford City