Bulls stutter to defeat at Bradford

United failed to continue their recent run of improved form when, despite defending well for most of the first half, eventually fell to the only goal of the game just before the break.

Trewick started with the same eleven that had defeated Chesterfield with the only change on the bench being the return of Lee Morris in place of McCallum and The Bulls were soon on the back foot as Bradford opened the brighter.

A couple of early moves from The Bantams failed to trouble Adam Bartlett while Kenny Lunt was just off target from just outside the box as he latched onto a Craig King knock-down. The hosts continued to produce the more attacking play but a combination of some majestic defending from Ryan Green and some wayward shooting meant that Bartlett was rarely brought into action apart from getting down comfortably to collect a low shot from Michael Flynn. The Bulls huffed and puffed but with Manset being close-marked and being forced to play mostly with his back to goal, any serious threat seemed unlikely. Brandon saw a couple of efforts go wide of the mark before Flynn's fine shot from 20 yards was close with a few minutes of the half remaining. However, the home side took the lead almost immediately after when another Flynn effort rebounded of the foot of the post and fell to the fortunate Evans to tap home from inside the six-yard box. A long distance effort at the other end from Walker failed to trouble the home keeper although Manset was unlucky to see his cracking 25-yarder whistle just over the bar with Eastwood seemingly beaten.

HT Bradford 1 Bulls 0

The pattern of the first period continued after the break with The Bulls having a decent share of possession without creating real chances in the danger area. Manset and Walker both showed good touches but were unable to find their way passed the well organised but somewhat ponderous home rearguard and officials' failure to penalise the frequent holding didn’t help the visitors cause. Bartlett saved from Brandon and Blanchett was on hand to complete the clearance before Hanson found the net only to be rightly ruled offside. Craig King tried hard in his unusual wide right role, as many fans were wondering why his pace and tenacity weren’t being employed in his more accustomed central striking position. Having said that, King’s whipped cross did cause some anxiety in the Bantams defence when it flew off a defenders head and dipped agonisingly over the bar with Eastwood scrambling to recover his position. Hanson had his second "goal" denied by the Assistant's flag when headed in from O'Brian's cross. Trewick replaced the tiring Manset with Sonko as he eventually moved King to the centre with twenty minutes remaining and also brought Lee Morris on for Walker with ten minutes to go. This did provoke a spirited closing period as The Bulls finally started to show themselves as an attacking force. Mark Marshall might have done better as a Lunt free kick evaded him while Morris was just off target with a glancing header from Marshall's centre. Bullock was dismissed for the second of two agricultural challenges before Ryan Valentine cut in from the left to fire a right-footed effort just wide. King’s pace provided a chance but Eastwood was quickly off his line to block as Bradford saw out the closing stages to record their third home win of the season in front of a crowd of 11,107 including 176 rain-swept Herefordians.

FT Bradford 1 Bulls 0

Hereford, apart from the final ten minutes or so, never really produced the passing game to open the home defence and while Manset showed flashes of his "Champs-Elysees" swagger his questionable stamina today proved his undoing. Walker grafted without much reward but it was the failure to provide telling through balls and crosses that accounted for the lack of goal attempts. At the back, Lowe performed in a steady manner without showing much going forward while Valentine was perhaps a shade fortunate, having been already booked, to stay on the pitch following a show of petulance when taking retribution having been hauled to the ground and not gaining the Ref's agreement for a clear foul. Blanchett and the imperious Ryan Green mainly restricted the home strikers to distance pot-shots and while the wide pair tried, they failed to produce the final quality to trouble the hosts. Marc Pugh, who joined the Bulls fans in the visitors section returns to full training on Tuesday and it is hoped that his much missed threat from the left will be available for the next game against Darlington next Saturday.

Bradford: - Eastwood, Bateson, Williams, Rehman , O’Brien L, Flynn, Bullock, Brandon (O’Brien J 70) Neilson, Hanson, Evans.
Unused Subs: - McLaughlin, Clarke, Boulding, Osborne, Sharry, Horne

Hereford: - Bartlett, Lowe, Green, Blanchett, Valentine, King, Gwynne, Lunt, Marshall, Manset (Sonko 70), Walker (Morris 79). Unused Subs: - Adamson, Rose, Done, Godsmark, Constantine.

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