Match Thread Bradford City Vs Barrow Tuesday 3rd December 7.45

EFL League Two Fixture #17
Tuesday 3rd December 2024 19:45
Bradford City (10th) vs Barrow (13th)
University of Bradford Stadium (AKA Valley Parade)

Record:
Games Won: 24
Games Drawn: 14
Games Lost: 17

Last 5:
01 Jan 2022: Barrow 1 – 2 Bradford City
06 Aug 2022: Barrow 3 – 2 Bradford City
18 Feb 2023: Bradford City 0 – 1 Barrow
11 Nov 2023: Bradford City 1 – 2 Barrow
23 Apr 2024: Barrow 1 – 2 Bradford City

Barrow:
Barrow started the season well under manager Stephen Clemence, the Bluebirds winning 5 of their opening 7 league fixtures, and dumping current league leaders Port Vale out of the EFL Cup in the very first round. They even progressed past Championship outfit Derby County in the EFL Cup second round, holding their esteemed opponents to a 0-0 draw at Holker Street, but it seems like a dream third round tie away at Chelsea has become something of an ongoing nightmare, at least statistically speaking.

Despite taking a 5-0 hammering at Stamford Bridge, many might assume Barrow would have taken a great deal of confidence from such a cup run, as well as benefitting from the small matter of a significant windfall, but Barrow’s results tell a very different story. Barrow followed the understandable Chelsea mauling with back-to-back defeats on the road against Gillingham (2-0) and Doncaster Rovers (1-0), before picking up a welcome home win over Cheltenham Town (2-1). That victory would prove to be their last league win of the campaign to date, as the Bluebirds have now gone nearly 2 months without a win over League Two opposition. The goals have dried up, with just 6 goals from their last 10 League Two fixtures, dating right back to that Chelsea drubbing – and including the 2-1 win over Cheltenham Town!

Results at Holker Street have become as indifferent as those on the road, with a recent run of 4 street home games seeing an FA Cup exit, an EFL Trophy exit (despite a 3-0 win over Aston Villa U21’s), and just 1 point from a pair of games against Colchester United and AFC Wimbledon. Their most recent game, a trip to Chesterfield, saw them beaten 1-0 and managing to conjure up just 1 shot on target.

In other words, if Bradford City fans have been left to lick their wounds after recent performances, spare a thought for Barrow! Whether it the Chelsea game played a significant part or not, it’s fair to say Barrow have since been completely derailed, and a surging start to the season is now the last thing on Stephen Clemence’s mind, his side having since slipped to 13th in the League Two table and looking down the table rather than up it!

As it stands, only Barrow and 23rd place Swindon Town have failed to win any of their last 5 league games, although they did at least pick up 3 straight 1-1 draws through late October/early November, stopping a run of 1-0 defeats to the likes of strugglers Accrington Stanley and Morecambe. Stephen Clemence has bemoaned Barrow’s propensity to concede late goals during their present winless run, his side having conceded no fewer than 8 goals after the 75th minute of matches so far.

At the other end of the pitch, defender Theo Vassell (3) is the club’s joint top scorer alongside forward Gerard Garner (3), a fact that underscores Barrow’s woes in front of goal. Emile Acquah, Andy Dallas, and Elliot Newby have each got 2 apiece, the only other players to have scored more than once in the league this season, with the likes of Dom Telford, Kian Spence, Sam Foley, Rory Feeley and Neo Eccleston all having netted just 1 goal each.

While there may not be any immediate threat to Pete Wild’s successor’s position at Barrow, Stephen Clemence finds himself in a rough spot at a club that have made a habit of capitulating late in a season. In both the 22/23 and 23/24 seasons, Barrow looked nailed on for a playoff place, only to embark on winless stretches that cost them any hope of promotion. At least in this case, there is plenty of time to put right Barrow’s torrid run of form. The question is, can Clemence get a response from his players – and if so, when?

Chesterfield 1 – 0 Barrow


Barrow 1 – 3 AFC Wimbledon


Bradford City:
None of Bradford City’s recent defeats (and the fans have endured back-to-back cup defeats to pile further misery on a stuttering league campaign) feel quite so significant as the defeat to Morecambe on Saturday to force a costly exit from the FA Cup – and kill off any hopes of a Round Three bonanza. A very poor side, Morecambe’s record this season speaks for itself. The second worst defensive record in the division. The worst home record in League Two without a win to show for any of their 8 home league ties. A distinctly mediocre attacking record that has seen them score exactly 1 goal per game on average in each of those winless home ties, while conceding precisely double that with a full 16 shipped at the Mazuma Mobile Stadium. And what do Bradford City do, with so much on the line?

Crash out without so much as a whimper, and with a red card to a key defender to boot. Graham Alexander bemoaned what looked like a harsh decision, but that decision wasn’t made until the 77th minute. That’s plenty of time to get at what appears to be a non-league level defence. Instead, City drew a blank, Jordan Slew scoring the only goal of the game to consign City to the history books of meaningful cup competition for another season, while Morecambe get rewarded with an away tie at Chelsea.

We all know the numbers would be different if City had won, and that a different tie may have been in the offing, but it’s salt in the wounds of a season where the fanbase was promised a competitive edge on what looks like an unusually weak division.

To sit back now and watch teams like Accrington Stanley, Tamworth, Bromley, Salford City, Harrogate Town and others earn serious money spinners hurts – and it feels like even more of a slap in the face on the back of an ill-advised and ill-timed missive from the owner, whose entire period as custodian of Bradford City has been one failure after another.

But enough negativity. The table is set, and Barrow are the next opposition set to descend upon Valley Parade. The chips will fall where they may, but the pressure must be on Graham Alexander now to pick his players up and get a response. Barrow look like ideal opposition having suffered a miserable season on the road, but then Morecambe looked like ideal opposition on Saturday to anyone not so taken with the superstition surrounding ex-players and a certain ex-manager.

There’s little else to say about Bradford City at the moment. It doesn’t seem to matter much which club they play, where they are in the league, or what the formbook says – unless the Bantams perform themselves, none of that is particularly relevant.

Colchester United 1 – 1 Bradford City


Fleetwood Town 1 – 0 Bradford City


Prediction:
It’s not that Barrow are hopeless despite their extended poor run of form. Goalkeeper Paul Farman is a solid shot stopper and has made plenty of good saves lately. Barrow both hit the woodwork and had a goal ruled out for offside in their 1-0 defeat to Chesterfield, and it took an 89th minute goal from Jamie Grimes to finally put the Bluebirds away. Sufficed to say, the Cumbrian side are competitive and hard to beat, but there is no question they are struggling to get themselves on the scoresheet (legitimately, at least), and have been unable to put any of their recent opponents away.

Confidence is becoming an issue according to manager Stephen Clemence, and one can see why. Try as they might, repeated sucker punches late in games have robbed them of no fewer than 12 points so far this season, and the prospect of an away day at Bradford City – generally a happy hunting ground of late – might seem more daunting than usual with the club sat 22nd place in the ‘Away’ league table. Bradford City might have lost at Valley Parade last time out against Doncaster Rovers in the league, but that is City’s only home defeat of the season, and while the Bantams have endured a miserable time away from home lately, it took an on-song side with real firepower up front to get the job done.

Barrow don’t exactly fit the profile. They are a team on significantly worse form than Bradford City at the moment, they are struggling for goals, and they are not enjoying away days on the road. Surely this game comes at a good time for Graham Alexander’s men, right? But the truth is, Bradford City have their own performance issues, as has been highlighted throughout this article.

It's hard to be confident of any outcome this Tuesday evening. Whether the players are feeling sorry for themselves and licking their wounds, or coming out with a belly full of fire really is tough to predict. How Barrow respond to a miserable away run where they have scored just 1 goal in their last 7 away games in all competitions is another question. Perhaps the most likely outcome based on the data available is a 1-0 Bradford City win with a predictably late strike to send the Bluebirds away with their spirits even lower – but Bradford City aren’t scoring either!

The pick then, perhaps against the run of play (but then again perhaps not), will be a 0-0.

Final Score:
Bradford City 0 – 0 Barrow