A much-changed Bradford side trailed at half-time, before Nick Powell came off the bench, scored twice and made sure a useful night for the squad ended with another City victory.
The EFL Trophy is unlikely to define Bradford City’s season, but nights like this still have plenty of value.
Graham Alexander was able to make wholesale changes, give meaningful minutes to players who have spent much of the opening weeks watching from the sidelines and still come away with a 2–1 victory over Newcastle United’s Under-21s.
It wasn’t particularly convincing for 45 minutes. In fact, City went into the break behind after Matheos Ferreira produced an excellent finish shortly before half-time. But a much stronger second half, helped considerably by the introduction of Bobby Pointon and Nick Powell, turned the game around.
And for Powell in particular, it became a very productive Tuesday night.
A proper night for the squad
Alexander understandably used the game to rotate heavily from the side that won at Luton on Saturday, with Cameron Dawson, Reece Welch, Hayden Matthews, Macaulay Gillesphey, Corey O’Keeffe, Kieran Morgan, Henry Cartwright, Adam Phillips, George Lapslie, Will Swan and Stephen Humphrys among those starting.
That was probably exactly what most of us wanted to see.
With the Barnsley league fixture postponed this weekend, there was perhaps an argument for keeping a few more regulars involved, but equally this squad needs competitive minutes. You don’t want to reach November needing someone like Morgan, Welch or Matthews and find they’ve barely played any proper football for two months.
The one thing we got wrong in the preview was Jake Beesley. I thought this looked an ideal opportunity to start him and hopefully get that first City goal, but Alexander instead went with Swan and Humphrys.
Fair enough. There’ll be other opportunities for Beesley.
City had chances, but Newcastle punished them
Bradford weren’t completely flat in the first half.
Corey O’Keeffe produced the best moment when his free-kick struck the crossbar after 23 minutes, while Humphrys and Gillesphey both had opportunities as City looked for the opener.
There was enough there to suggest Bradford should probably have been ahead.
Instead, Newcastle scored. With three minutes remaining before half-time, Ferreira picked the ball up outside the area and fired a right-footed effort into the top corner. Cameron Dawson had already denied him minutes earlier, but there wasn’t much he could do with the second one.
It was a very good goal.
It also left City heading down the tunnel 1–0 behind after a half where plenty of the players given their opportunity hadn’t really done enough to force themselves into Alexander’s immediate League One thinking.
That changed after the break.
Alexander reaches for the bench
The turning point came on 57 minutes.
Alexander introduced Nick Powell, Bobby Pointon and Harry Ibbitson, replacing Humphrys, Swan and Phillips. Two minutes later, it was 1–1. Pointon delivered the cross and Powell headed home from the middle of the box. After scoring the winner at Luton on Saturday, Pointon was immediately involved again, while Powell had managed to make an impact almost before he’d had chance to get his shirt dirty.
Bradford suddenly looked far more dangerous.
Powell nearly scored again ten minutes later when another Pointon delivery found him in the box, only for George Mair to make the save. He didn’t have to wait long.
Nick Powell decides it
On 71 minutes, Corey O’Keeffe delivered from the right and Powell finished with his left foot into the bottom corner.
2–1 Bradford. Two goals in 14 minutes for Powell.
It was exactly the sort of contribution you want from one of the more experienced members of the squad in a game like this. Powell isn’t necessarily going to start every League One match, particularly with the attacking options Alexander has available, but nights like this underline why having him around is valuable.
Bring him into a slightly scrappy cup game against younger opposition and suddenly there’s somebody on the pitch who knows exactly where to be when the ball arrives in the box. Two chances. Two goals.
Job done.
Pointon keeps making things happen
There’s another positive worth highlighting.
Bobby Pointon followed Saturday’s winning goal at Luton by coming off the bench and providing the cross for Powell’s equaliser, before nearly creating another for him ten minutes later.
That’s the sort of consistency you want to see from him.
We already know the technical ability is there. The next stage is turning that ability into goals and assists regularly enough that Alexander simply can’t leave him out when the league games return.
His introduction changed the feel of the attack here.
And this is why squad depth matters
The result itself is useful, but perhaps the bigger benefit was getting proper minutes into players like Morgan, Cartwright, Welch, Matthews, Swan and Lapslie.
Not everyone will have come away having massively strengthened their case for a league start, and that’s fine too. These games give Alexander information. They allow players to build fitness, give younger members of the squad experience and also remind those just outside the starting XI what level they need to reach.
Then, if the game starts getting away from you, having Pointon, Powell and Pennington available from the bench isn't exactly a bad insurance policy. That depth already looks considerably better than it has at various points in recent Bradford seasons.
Five wins on the bounce
Perhaps the nicest part is that winning is becoming a habit.
Since the defeat against Cambridge at the start of September, Bradford have now beaten Mansfield, Leyton Orient, Notts County, Luton and Newcastle U21s in succession across three competitions.
Obviously an EFL Trophy group game against an academy side isn’t the same as going to Kenilworth Road and winning in League One.
But maintaining momentum rarely hurts.
Alexander changed virtually everything about the side and City still found a way to turn a losing position into another victory.
That’s a useful trait for any squad.
Bantams Unfiltered verdict
This was probably exactly what City needed from the evening.
The first half wasn’t particularly impressive and Newcastle deserved credit for taking advantage of it, but the second half demonstrated the difference a little first-team quality can make.
Players who needed minutes got them. Pointon came on and made an impact. Powell came on and scored twice. City started their EFL Trophy campaign with three points and, most importantly, there appear to be no obvious reasons to regret rotating the side.
It also showed that some players are currently closer to Alexander’s first-choice team than others.
That’s what these nights are for.
Bradford City 2–1 Newcastle United U21.
Not one we’ll be talking about in ten years’ time.
But another win, another useful night for the squad, and a very handy reminder that Nick Powell still has plenty to offer.
Bantams Unfiltered
Bradford City. Straight opinions. No nonsense.
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