Bradford City loan hero has heart set on Wembley date (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford City loan hero Curtis Good has heart set on Wembley date

8:10am Monday 28th January 2013 in Bantams By Simon Parker, Bradford City Reporter

Curtis Good admits that it would break his heart if he missed out on City’s dream trip to the Capital One Cup final.

The teenage Australian played his part in taming Aston Villa with two solid performances at left back and is desperate to see the job through against Swansea at Wembley on February 24.

But Good first has to convince boss Phil Parkinson and his parent club Newcastle to let him stick around at Valley Parade for at least one more month.

The 19-year-old’s loan, which has already been extended once, is up after next weekend’s trip to Fleetwood – so he is begging that his pleas do not fall on deaf ears.

Good said: “I’m going to have to soften the gaffer up. It would be heartbreaking if I wasn’t allowed to stay and ended up watching it on the TV.

“I don’t know if I could do that. I would probably come and support the boys anyway.

“But hopefully we can sort something out. I’ve played both semi-finals, so maybe there’s some rule in the back of the book saying that I’ve got to still be here!”

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew was in the Villa Park crowd, chiefly to watch the home side ahead of the Geordies’ visit tomorrow night. But it gave Good the chance to show the manager why the Premier League club took a punt on him last summer with a six-year contract.

Good said: “I wasn’t aware the manager was there at the time, my dad told me afterwards, but it was a pretty special moment for him to watch.

“It was hard to explain how I felt afterwards. It was probably relief at first when the whistle went because those four minutes when we had to hold on after the last goal felt like ages.

“But I’ve never been part of a team with so much desire to get a result. We wanted to rise to the occasion and there was such determination to get the job done.

“When I first came to Bradford I wasn’t sure how it would be. I’d not watched League Two before and I had no idea about the club.

“But I checked Wikipedia and read up on the history and really how big they are – and being here now, I realise what the support is like.

“Newcastle keep in contact and are always asking how I’m doing. I’m getting experience and I’m loving it here – for another month at least.”

Friends and family in Australia had watched the game live over breakfast and Good’s phone went “crazy” afterwards. His parents flew over for the Valley Parade first leg and are busy organising a possible return trip to take in Wembley.

For Good, the match was only the start of a long night of celebrations that eventually wound up at dawn.

He laughed: “It finished about 5.30am. I was so tired when I’d got back on the bus and probably needed to fall asleep first. But I just couldn’t and then it seemed to go on forever.

“But they were great times that I’ll never forget. Whatever happens, we’ve been part of history.

“Carlo (Carl McHugh) and I are only 19 and don’t realise how big it is at the moment.

“It probably won’t be for another five or ten years when you’re watching Man United and Man City in the final, then you’ll suddenly think ‘wow, we’ve been there’!”