We Got A Win At The Valley

Apologies to the often-forgotten Sabrina Johnson whose lyrics have been stretched past credulity to try and cram something song related into the title.

After the great win to start the new year on Monday against Swindon Town, it’s time for my first away game of the season. Circumstances have meant I’ve missed a lot of good opportunities, and this certainly wasn’t a planned (or even thought of) game to come to. In fact, I was supposed to be on the way to Seville, but with Helen advised not to fly, that trip has been postponed until March (much like the Morecambe game we were going to go to back in October) this week. So, I’ve taken the opportunity to take advantage of the already booked annual leave and head north.

And so, today’s game is something of an epiphany game for us. (Yes, that’s a poor joke, but as it’s the only date I can use it, it could be years before another game falls on the sixth of January.)

Today’s game is against Bradford City, in the WAGMI derby. We played them in our first game of the season and won 1-0, with Will Wright scoring one of his now trademark thunderbolts. Which continued our good record against them. And had the bonus of making Mark Hughes lose his shit again. There is no Mark Hughes to annoy today as he has got the push because Bradford weren’t doing very well, especially for a club of their size and expectations.

Going into today’s game we sit twelfth in the League Two table. One place above our opponents, and two points ahead of them. So, managing to avoid defeat would keep us above them in the table. Always good. We are only three points off a play off place (although there is a lot of goal difference to make up, so effectively four points).

We got here yesterday afternoon, chilled last night and then spent the morning sightseeing. We could see the stadium from the back windows of our hotel.

Some people may scoff about being able to sightsee in a northern industrial city such as Bradford, but we found lots to take photos of. In fact, we were so busy we didn’t get to any of the pre-match drinking establishments. The inside of the Waterstones is just mental.

And someone had put a Bradford City scarf around the neck of the statue in there. It could have been replaced with a Crawley Town one, but I wouldn’t have made it up there and back down in one piece. They had books on Bradford Park Avenue as well. It’s hard to think they were replaced by Cambridge United on election to/from the league about a month before I was born in 1970.

The plan was for me to get my first programme of the season. Little things and all that. Only Bradford have completely doing programmes as well. So, I have to make do with a photo of the picture in the foyer of our hotel with a selection of their programmes over the last century.

The team coach still had its engine running as we passed it coming down the hill to the ground, perhaps planning a fast getaway.

Meanwhile the fan’s coach was parked behind the other side of the ground and had emptied and had its engine off.

Their pitch is looking quite threadbare – or should that be grass bare? I thought us having sand in one goalmouth was bad enough. If you put sand on their pitch in all the bare spots it would rival Camber Sands for the beach.

The ball was delivered to the centre circle by a little remote-control vehicle. A gimmick left over from noughties Premier League games. Perhaps we could get a little robot on a tricycle to do a similar thing for us?

We are in our nice mint green third kits, which I went to get one of when I got tickets for this game earlier in the week, only for them to have only young child sizes left. Bradford were in their traditional amber and maroon stripes. A guy sits down behind us and promptly points past my ear and tells his wife “I built that stand,” which sounded impressive until his wife replied, “Yes, I know, you tell me that every time we come here” in a thoroughly disinterested voice.

An early chance is dragged wide by Danilo Orsi, in a slow start to the game. Followed not long after by an impressive effort from Corey Addai to launch a ball over the stand we were sat in, for the only ball loss of the game.

There is some decent work after some sustained Crawley pressure, Liam Kelly plays a great ball through to Nick Tsaroulla, whose first time cross from the byline in is headed in from two yards by Orsi to make it 1-0.

Just after the half hour mark there is a ball played over the top of our defence. It looks miles offside, but the lino keeps his flag down and runs with the play. The Bradford striker puts it in to the back of the net, only for the linesman to then put his flag up for the offside. FFS, we haven’t got VAR, put the flag up as soon as they touch the ball instead of giving us all heart attacks.

Bradford are coming forward more and more and five minutes before the break they are one on one with Addai again, the flag doesn’t go up, and Addai makes a great save. Bradford are getting away with a lot more roughhousing now. Half of this team wouldn’t be out of place playing at the Odsal instead.

There are two added minutes at the end of the half, and then the half ends with us leading 1-0. The Bradford sound system seems to have unplugged and speakers near the away end, as we are only catching whispers from the announcements in the home parts of the ground.

The second half starts, but it takes a long time for Crawley to join in. Bradford get a couple of corners, a near miss, Addai goes down needing some treatment, and the ref appears to be turning into a bit of a homer. He has an inane grin plastered to his face as if he is just pleased they’ve let him out on day release. The pressure continues. There is a free kick, a long shot, another Addai save for a corner, Bradford players have taken to throwing themselves to the ground at every opportunity to win something. It certainly wouldn’t be an academy award.

Then we have a breakaway, Tsaroulla is played through by Orsi as he lies in the centre circle, but with a defender chasing him down he goes to the right-hand side of the box before shooting and his shot ends up going straight at the keeper.

Fifteen minutes into the half, the continued pressure from Bradford tells, their number three crosses from the left and it deflects off a Crawley defender and loops over Addai and into the net to make it 1-1. It has been coming.

We have a couple of chances not long after, a Tsaroulla shot is straight at the keeper, and a trademark Will Wright thunderbolt from thirty-five yards out goes over the bar.

The crowd is announced early on, 16,919, with they say 103 away fans. Who the hell was counting us in, Stevie Wonder? There were at least fifty more of us than that.

With seventy-eight minutes gone, there is some messing around trying to clear the ball out from the goal line, a bad touch sees the ball run away, and a Bradford player takes the opportunity to do a running dive over the outstretched leg of a Crawley defender and a penalty is given. Which Addai saves but can’t keep hold of and the taker bundles the rebound in, and we are now losing 1-2. No more than we deserve really for the terrible second half performance so far.

But the goal seems to wake us up. Orsi is in on the keeper and tries to dink it over him to get onto only for the covering defender to clear the ball away. We are trying much harder, but the ball doesn’t seem to stick or fall for us.

Only for there to be some great play from the left-hand side, through the centre of the park, and over to the right where a cross is put in which falls to Adam Campbell and he smacks it in for an equaliser, and it’s 2-2.

Near the halfway there is what looks to be a two footed lunge on Lawrence Maguire, and he is down for a couple of minutes injured. But the decision given by the officials is for a Bradford throw, and then there are three phases of play before the ref waves Maguire back on.

There are eight added minutes, with injuries and goals that isn’t a surprise. And we take advantage. We get a penalty, Tsaroulla is tripped in the area after a ball was played to him by Campbell. It looked soft, but I’m not complaining after some of the other dire decisions the officials have made today. Orsi takes, ignoring all the gamesmanship from the Bradford players, and strokes it into the bottom corner to give us the lead again 3-2. Cue scenes in the away end.

Bradford go down the other end and get a corner and there is breath held, the eight minutes are more than up, and in the ninth minute of eight Crawley break. The decision making is good, the passes are accurate and Klaidi Lolos has a shot which takes a bit of a deflection and goes into the top corner of the net to make it 4-2. Utter pandemonium and delirium in the away end.

The final whistle goes not long after and Crawley has won 4-2. Oh my days. It is the first sway win I’ve been in attendance for, and what a last fifteen minutes of play. A shame much of what went before was pony. But who can’t fail to be overjoyed with a 4-2 away win.

A win that puts us back up to ninth in the table, on the same points as both of the Dons, and only out of the play-off places on goal difference. Get in there.

All that is left now is to find somewhere to get the traditional post-match curry. Which as we all know will be extremely difficult in somewhere like Bradford. (We went to supposedly the oldest curry house in the UK, very nice and ridiculously cheap, starters, mains, and soft drinks for less than £25 for the two of us.)

And then next up is Peterborough United away on Wednesday night in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy. We have a couple of more nights in Bradford before heading down to Peterborough on Tuesday. Let’s get one step closer to Wembley.

Come on you reds.

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