Bury vs Bradford City - Reported by Hannah Ingram at Gigg Lane
After taking three points from high-flying Bournemouth at the weekend, Bury came into tonight's match against Bradford with a positive vibe. The Bantams hadn't won since early December, and a recent run of three losses and a draw meant the Yorkshire side were hungry for some points to give their struggling season a much needed boost.
Bradford started brightly with Boulding wasting a golden opportunity on goal inside the first minute. A curling ball from Evans on the left wing fell nicely for Boulding but his close range effort blasted against the chest of Wayne Brown in the Bury net. Moments later and at the other end of the pitch, Lowe came close from the right of the box after Worrall had his shot from inside the box blocked. Lowe's shot was carried away by Glennon in the Bradford net, giving Bury their first corner. Taken by BBM on the right, it was cleared by Bradford for another corner. This time taken from the left by Jones, it reached the head of Futcher but his header was cleared off the line.
A clumsy foul from Sodje on 7 minutes saw Boulding pulled back, giving Bradford a free kick just outside the box. Taken by Flynn, it curled towards Wayne Brown and was narrowly over the bar.
Yellow card for Bury on 12 minutes - Efe Sodje
Following the foul from Sodje, O'Brien tried an attempt on goal from outside the box from the free kick, only to see Brown gather it high above his head.
GOAL! A smart move saw Bury take the lead on 17 minutes. Worrall made space on the right before passing through to Lowe on the right of the box, whose shot was deflected into a cross for the waiting Jones who finished from close range.
Shakers 1 Bantams 0
GOAL! Bradford made things level on 23 minutes after a mix up between Brown and Sodje saw Sodje put the ball in the back of his own net. Boulding had got onto the end of a confident cross from the right, but whilst Sodje tried to clear the danger, Brown was doing the same and the ball ended up in the back of the net at the left post after coming from Sodje's head.
Shakers 1 Bantams 1
GOAL! Bury took the lead for the second time on 32 minutes after Bradford conceded a penalty. Dawson had made his way into the box before being brought down by Glennon. The referee saw the foul enough to be worthy of a spot kick and Ryan Lowe stepped up. Shooting the bottom left hand corner, Lowe beat Glennon despite him diving the right way.
Shakers 2 Bantams 1
A hotly contested half continued as both teams got stuck in. Gareth Evans wasted a good chance on 44 minutes as he headed well wide from a looping cross from the right. He was left with time to tee up his effort and should have done better.
Three minutes of additional time were indicated by the fourth official as Jones paced forward on a rapid counter attack following a clearance from BBM. Bury were eventually awarded a free kick but Lowe wasted the chance to take the ball into the box. Added time was soon over and Bury took their lead into the break.
Half Time - Shakers 2 Bantams 1
Both sides returned to the field with no changes made. A neat pass from Neilson through to Brandon in the box looked promising for Bradford on 48 minutes, but the pass had too much pace to be controlled.
David Buchanan came close to breaking his scoring his first ever goal for Bury on 52 minutes after leaving his marker for dead on the edge of the box. He made room for himself on the left of the box before driving hard towards the left post, only to see it palmed away by Glennon.
Substitution for Bradford on 60 minutes - Omar Daley on for Gareth Evans
Bury had a goal disallowed on 61 minutes as Sodje was judged to be offside. He was left with room to nudge the ball in at the far post after a BBM free kick from the right of the box, but was flagged offside.
Yellow card for Bradford on 63 minutes - Jonathan Bateson
Brandon came close on 65 minutes after the Bury defence failed to deal with him sneaking into the box on the right. Shooting from an acute angle, he rattled the right post and Bury cleared the danger soon after.
Substitution for Bradford on 73 minutes - Rory Boulding on for Chris Brandon
Jones tried an ambitious effort on 76 minutes after running from inside his own half to just outside the Bradford box. Teeing up a powerful drive, it took a deflection and was gathered by Glennon to his left. Clarke saw his header on goal saved by Brown on 78 minutes following a corner from Ramsden on the left.
Yellow card for Bury on 85 minutes - Ben Futcher
Morrell came close to making it three for Bury in the final moments of normal time, only to see his shot blocked in front of the line.
Four minutes of additional time were indicated by the fourth official as Bury aimed to keep possession. Dawson ran the length of the Bradford half to take the ball into the corner and win a throw in, only to give possession back to Bradford soon after. Bradford threw everything forward in the time remaining, but Bury put their weight behind every attempt to get into the Bury half. Their resilience paid off as the final whistle blew, giving Bury their first home win of 2010.
Full credit to Bradford for making a game of it and throwing the kitchen sink at the Shakers, but a plethora of half chances cost the Bantams in the end. The win takes Bury into third place and leaves Bradford in 15th in League Two. Bury welcome Hereford to Gigg Lane at the weekend looking to extend their fine run of form, and the Shakers make the return trip to Bradford in a few weeks time.
Full Time - Shakers 2 Bantams 1
Attendance - 2930 (896 visitors)
Bury:Wayne Brown, Paul Scott, David Buchanan, Ben Futcher, Stephen Dawson (c), Brian Barry-Murphy, Michael Jones, Ryan Lowe, Efetobore Sodje, Andy Morrell, David Worrall
Substitutes:Richie Baker, Danny Racchi, Damian Allen, Cameron Belford , Tom Newey, Luke McCarthy
Bradford City: Matt Glennon, Simon Ramsden, Luke O'Brien, Michael Flynn, Zesh Rehman (c), Matthew Clarke,Gareth Evans,Chris Brandon, Michael Boulding, Jonathan Bateson, Scott Neilson
Substitutes:Jon McLaughlin, Omar Daley, Rory Boulding, James Boulding, Louis Horne
Referee:Mr. S. Mathieson (Cheshire)
Assistant (R&Y Flag):Mr. K Mattocks
Assistant (Y Flag):Mr. O Yates
Fourth Official:Mr. R Johnson
