Bradford City 4 v 0 Millwall (FA Cup – 3rd Round Replay)
Ian Holloway brought his Lion’s to Valley Parade for an FA Cup (3rd Round Replay) against Bradford City following a 3-3 at the New Den eleven day ago. At stake was a fourth round tie away at Stamford Bridge against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea.
City started the better of the two teams and had three good chances in the first three minutes, Andrew Davies headed over the crossbar in the second minute, before Gary Liddle volleyed over the bar in the third minute and then Millwall’s Alan Dunne headed over his own crossbar with James Hanson waiting to score.
On five minutes, Rory McArdle played a long ball out of defence over the Millwall back four which found James Hanson, as the big striker ran clear at goal, Millwall defender Mark Beever’s brought him down and was given a straight red card by referee Adcock.
City took the lead on eight minutes following a Andrew Halliday corner which was flicked on by Rory McArdle to find an unmarked James Hanson at the back post who headed past David Forde in the Millwall goal.
Billy Knott went close to adding another goal on fourteen minutes when the ball dropped into the path of Knott inside the area, but the midfielder volleyed a yard over the Millwall crossbar.
Bradford extended their lead on eighteen minutes following a Filipe Morais free kick which found Andrew Davies in the Millwall penalty area, his header found Jon Stead six yards out and he slotted the ball passed David Forde in the Millwall goal to make it 2-0.
The biggest talking point of the match came on the half hour mark, as the ball went out of play Alan Dunne pushed James Hanson from behind which sent the City striker over the advertisement boards. This started a massive brawl between both sets of players and the City management team on the touchline.
The brawl so Millwall goalkeeper David Forde run half way across the pitch to throw a punch at Jon Stead and Billy Knott, whilst both Phil Parkinson and Steve Parkin also ran down the touchline to protect their players. After referee Adcock spoke with the fourth official, Forde received the yellow card and Parkinson and Parkin were both sent to the stand.
Nine minutes later, City added a third goal when Filipe Morais got clear on the right wing before crossing into the area for Andrew Halliday to tap in from close range at the near post, to give City a 3-0 half-time lead.
The second half started with Lee Butler (Goalkeeping Coach) taking charge on the bench, as James Meredith ran down the left-wing before providing Billy Knott with a glorious chance. The left back’s low ball into the box fell at the feet of Knott but his chip was saved by Forde from close range.
On fifty minutes, Millwall’s Richard Chaplow tried a shot from distance, but the midfielders drive sails high and wide over Ben Williams’ crossbar.
The game was all over for Millwall on fifty-seven minutes, as Billy Knott added a fourth City goal for the evening and confirmed their place in the fourth round against Chelsea. It was an excellent move that was kept a live in the Millwall area before Knott slotted passed Forde from six yards out.
The final real chance of the game came on the seventy-third minute when following a Millwall corner Andrew Halliday cleared the ball to Francois Zoko on the half-way line. The Ivorian striker raced into the box beating Briggs for pace before clipping the ball past Forde only to see his effort hit against the near post and go out for a goal-kick.
Speaking after the match manager Phil Parkinson said, “After the disappointment of Saturday against Rochdale, when we didn’t get what we deserved we have responded terrifically tonight.
The way we started the game was magnificent and we did everything right throughout the night, it was a really professional performance. We wanted to get at them early and try to stamp our authority on the match, that was the aim from the first whistle.
Even at three-nil up, we kept doing the right things because we wanted to finish the game with a clean sheet. Obviously there was a lot at stake tonight, getting the club to the fourth round for the first time in fifteen years and a visit to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea.
We have an important league game at Yeovil Town first before we travel to Chelsea and look to embrace the occasion. It was a great turn out from the fans and they made a great atmosphere.
The staff deserve a lot of credit as well for getting the game on with all the snow that was around on Tuesday, plus the commercial team and ticket office staff deserve enormous credit for pushing the game and getting the fans into the stadium.
It was another great atmosphere here under the lights at the Coral Windows Stadium and the crowd did make a difference. We’ve had a number of good cup nights here over the years, but it’s nice to give the fans a good evening in the F.A Cup.”
Match Details
Bradford City – Williams, Darby, Meredith, McArdle, Davies, Liddle, Knott, Morais, Halliday, Stead, Hanson (Subs) Urwin, Yeates, Kennedy, Zoko, Webb-Foster, Routis, Sheehan
Millwall – Forde, Dunne, Shittu, Beevers, Martin, Briggs, Upson, Abdou, Chaplow, Fuller, Gregory (Subs) King, Woolford, Webster, Gueye, Powell, McDonald, Nelson
Goals – (Bradford City) Hanson (8), Stead (17) Halliday (39), Knott (57)
Attendance – 11,859
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