Ten men give their all to no avail

Photo: Alan Howarth

SO CLOSE . . . Athletic captain Liam Kelly (left) sees a late header saved as his side push for an equaliser.

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Bradford 1, Athletic 0

WAS it or wasn’t it? That was the question left hanging in the winter air at Valley Parade after John Sheridan’s first game back in charge had ended in another defeat for a club that never seems to get the breaks.

Tony McMahon’s looping 50th-minute header won it for Bradford, increasing the chill at the southern tip of League One for a hard-working but slightly underwhelming Athletic side.

Liam Kelly forced a save from Ben Williams with a late header from a corner and as against Millwall under the previous management, there was no lack of commitment from Athletic as they fell to a 10th loss of the season.

Jake Cassidy had the best chance for the visitors, flicking out an instinctive volley that Williams pushed away shortly before the incident that left everyone poring over the replays.

Defensively, starting with five at the back, Athletic were resolute. Going forward, though, there was a lack of spark and drive.

While the front two of Cassidy and Rhys Murphy can point to a lack of service, Bradford’s defence had far too easy an afternoon of it up against that pair.

But back to the big question: Should Connor Brown have been dismissed after 41 minutes? It’s tough to come to an absolute conclusion even after watching countless replays.

Perhaps a lack of action – Brown hadn’t featured since November – contributed to over-exuberance when making a lunge towards Kyel Reid in midfield. Brown is a determined character and had he not stretched as far as he could to tackle the home winger, his manager would rightly have been on his back.

The ball was there to be won – and Brown won it with his left foot. With his trailing leg leaving the floor in the process, though, referee Ben Toner considered him to have lost control.

After contact, Reid added embellishment for effect, while the vocal Bradford bench leapt around and harangued officials. Sheridan had plenty to say to Toner as the teams made their way off at half-time.

Athletic had been unspectacular before dropping to 10 men. The extra room given Phil Parkinson’s play-off chasing side afterwards meant they had space in which to deliver a flurry of crosses.

Target man James Hanson was dealt with well by Athletic. But another goal from a far-post delivery – a recurrent theme this season – came from the source of ex-Blackpool man McMahon, whose header from James Meredith’s hanging cross travelled over Joel Coleman and under the bar.

Athletic were careless in possession, but almost had the lead when Cassidy spun and produced a clean hit that was on target before Williams beat it out.

The resulting passage of play led to Brown’s red card. Only a superb block by the resolute Timothee Dieng prevented Hanson from scoring just before half-time.

McMahon’s goal increased the gradient of an already uphill struggle, though. At one end, Chris Routis landed the ball on the roof of goal from 45 yards when Coleman rushed out to clear a ball that then fell to the Bradford midfielder.

At the other, even the pace of Jonathan Forte and Dominic Poleon, introduced from the bench, couldn’t get the 10 men going as a real threat.

Now into his first full week back at the helm, if nothing else this defeat will have told Sheridan plenty about his squad’s weaknesses.