Keeper saves three penalties before Williams sparks City joy

6:50am Wednesday 11th November 2009

By Simon Parker

City are within two rounds of Wembley after another nail-biting penalty victory in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

Lightning struck twice as the Bantams advanced to the Northern Area semi-finals on spot-kicks after a 2-2 draw – just as they had done against Notts County.

Simon Eastwood emerged as the shoot-out hero again with THREE saves, before Steve Williams held his nerve to hammer home the decisive effort.

City were down to bare bones territory because of injury and suspension, so 19-year-old Luke Sharry got his first senior start in midfield. With no Lee Bullock again, Zesh Rehman moved up from defence to take over the holding role.

Away teams usually bring one man and a dog to Valley Parade in the JPT but Vale had decent backing from almost 1,000 fans after the sponsors laid on 16 free coaches.

It made for a decent atmosphere, even though the seats behind both goals were left empty, with the Bradford End singers decamping en masse to the top half of the Kop.

Matt Clarke, recalled to the back four, saw plenty of early ball but his weak header out fell for Louis Dodds, who drove across goal. Then he denied the Vale striker with a well-timed lunge after a loose ball had fallen into his path.

Williams headed wide from a free-kick before Adam Yates almost cashed in at the other end on a lapse in concentration from Michael Flynn.

Vale had certainly started the brighter and Jamie Guy was close with a diving header from Robert Taylor’s cross.

Eastwood turned away a Gareth Owen header but a Vale goal was coming and it arrived in the 27th minute.

An angled ball picked out Tommy Fraser on the right byline and his cross was neatly converted by the unmarked John McCombe.

City had been slow to react but it was no more than the lively visitors deserved – and they weren’t far off a second as Guy thrashed wide when a corner dropped at his feet. Again City were caught flat-footed.

Dodds got involved in a spat with the crowd while off the pitch for treatment. He then came back on without the referee’s permission and was booked, to the delight of the fans.

City needed a lift from somewhere but could not piece their way through a wall of black and white shirts that barred progress in the Vale penalty area. Vale still looked fairly ordinary at the back but keeper Chris Martin had been untroubled for 45 minutes.

It needed a big improvement for the second half and McCall threw on Chris Brandon and James O’Brien for the ineffective Sharry and Michael Boulding.

The changes immediately had an effect. Kris Taylor conceded a cheap corner with a miscued clearance within four minutes and Flynn glanced O’Brien’s kick beyond Martin.

City and their supporters had come alive and almost had a second goal to celebrate as Flynn was inches away from converting Hanson’s knockdown.

City were playing far more like a team and there was a pattern about their approach after the disjointed efforts earlier. Hanson screamed for a penalty for handball and Brandon drove into the side-netting as they continued to set the tempo.

Taylor nearly made amends for his part in the equaliser with a stinging 25-yarder that had Eastwood scrambling to his left but it was an isolated incident amid the home pressure.

Hanson’s height was causing problems again and he won one header from James O’Brien’s free-kick which bounced across the six-yard box with nobody there to apply the killer touch.

But there was no escape for Vale in the 69th minute when Hanson soared again to meet a Luke O’Brien set-piece and bundled it in from close range.

Now it was Vale chasing the game – and they were back level within six minutes as McCombe worked the ball across the field for Robert Taylor to lash beyond Eastwood.

Momentum was shifting once again and Taylor was so close to bagging another from a dangerous cross by substitute Lewis Haldane.

The tie was up for grabs as the dreaded penalties approached. Brandon had a shot charged down following a cheeky backheel by Flynn and Neilson ran into trouble after a pulsating 40-yard break.

Flynn, Hanson, Luke O’Brien and Rehman bagged their penalties but misses from James O’Brien and Brandon kept the pot boiling. Eastwood, though, proved supreme with a hat-trick of saves to set up Williams to finish matters.

City: Eastwood 8, Bateson 5, Williams 6, Clarke 6, L O’Brien 7, Rehman 6, Flynn 7, Sharry 5 (Brandon 46, 7), Neilson 6, Hanson 7, M Boulding 5 (J O’Brien 46, 6). Subs (not used): R Boulding, Osborne, McLaughlin. Vale: Martin 6, Yates 6, Owen 6 (Richards 32, 6), Collins 6, McCombe 7, K Taylor 5, Fraser 6, Jarrett 5 (Griffith 67), Dodds 7, Guy 5 (Haldane 67), R Taylor 7. Subs (not used): Loft, Anyon. Attendance: 5,096.