Guiseley AFC 1 v 1 Bradford City (Pre-Season Friendly)
After a busy summer at Valley Parade, the club now has two new chairman, a new manager and a new back room staff. However the new manager Stuart McCall took his players back to Nethermoor Park, for the annual pre-season game against Vanarama Conference side Guiseley AFC.
The first half was a very even midfield battle, but once the game got started Mark Marshall threatened a number of times and he forced Guiseley goalkeeper Dan Atkinson to push behind after an angled drive from the City winger.
James Hanson also tested Atkinson with a shot of his own from a similar position, while the home shot-stopper had to be alert to smother Paul Anderson’s close range effort after he’d been teed up by Polish striker Vincent Rabiega.
Vincent Rabiega had to be replaced by Reece Webb-Foster ten minutes before the break after picking up a spot of cramp. Just before half-time Mark Marshall hit an excellent shot which hit the crossbar with Dan Atkinson beaten, to make the half-time score 0-0.
The second-half was much more entertaining, after a number of changes, the first real effort of the half fall to Dieng who struck the top of the crossbar, before Dan Atkinson made two excellent saves from point blank range from Nicky Law and Billy Clarke.
Guiseley then went close when Michael Rankine sent an excellent free kick towards the City goal which Cracknell tipped on to the post and went out for a corner.
Then former City Youth Captain Sam Wright played a smart ball up to Adam Boyes who fed Oli Johnson in the channel, the striker then slide the ball into the far corner for the goal on seventy-two minutes to make it 1-0.
Bradford City drew level just three minutes later, when a Nicky Law free kick was pulled back to the edge of the box and Tom Hateley hit a first time shot into the right hand side of the goal to make it 1-1.
Bradford then increased the pressure on Guiseley as Billy Clarke and Reece Powell were linking well together up front for Bradford City. Billy Clarke should have extended the lead for City when his shot on eighty minutes beat Atkinson and struck the far post.
Reece Powell could have sealed the game for Bradford City in the eighty fifth minute when he beat the goalkeeper to the ball in the area, before putting the ball into the side netting from a tight angle to leave the full time score 1-1.
Speaking after the match City manager Stuart McCall said, “I enjoyed a lot of stuff we played today, but I would have been gutted if that had been a league game after we had that many chances.
I watched on Wednesday night and Guiseley played really well against Huddersfield. So I knew what to expect from them today. It’s not about the result or anything it’s about the players fitness and the performance. It’s also about seeing the players implement what we are after and they went out and did it
We mixed the team with trialist and young boys and played two different systems. We included five trialist but Polish striker Vincent Rabiega was forced off with a tight hamstring after half an hour.”
Match Details
Guiseley – Atkinson, East, Williams, Vidal, Lockwood, Lawler, Hatfield, Rankine, Logan, Leitch, Preston (Subs) Whittington, Assenso, Palmer, Wells, Smith, Johnson, Boyes, Morton, Cissa
Bradford City – Sattelmaier, Boateng, McMahon, King, Knight-Percival, Hateley, Devine, Hanson, Rabiega, Marshall, Anderson (Subs) Cracknell, Laid, Law, Green, B.Clarke, N.Clarke, Meredith, Powell, Web-Forster, Payne, Dieng
Goals – (Guiseley) Johnson (72), (Bradford City) Hateley (75)
Chadwick Media 