Excitement mounting after second penalty shoot-out win (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Excitement mounting after second penalty shoot-out win

7:40am Wednesday 11th November 2009

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Stuart McCall says City can smell Wembley as he crossed his fingers for another Valley Parade draw in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.

The Bantams thrillingly sneaked through on penalties for the second round running last night. Simon Eastwood saved three Port Vale spot-kicks before Steve Williams hammered home the decisive effort after the game had finished 2-2.

City must wait until Saturday morning to see who they will face in the Northern Area semi-finals. Leeds, Carlisle and Accrington are the possible opponents.

McCall is not bothered who they get as long as it’s a third successive home tie.

The City chief said: “A home draw would be fantastic. People might say you don’t want Leeds but we went there last year and put in a really good show.

“I remember getting to the cup quarter-finals playing for Bradford and losing at Luton. That was probably the nearest chance we’ve had.

“But we’re in the last eight now and Wembley is in sniffing distance. It’s exciting for everyone.”

Michael Flynn and James Hanson notched second-half goals after City trailed at the interval.

McCall, who brought on Chris Brandon and James O’Brien, said: “Sometimes we expect too much from this team but we know they are much better than the first half showed.

“I did tell them that getting to Wembley couldn’t mean that much if that’s how they perform.

“But they came out in the second half and upped their game and put in a really energetic display.”

City’s resources had been stretched and McCall employed Zesh Rehman in a defensive midfield role to cover Lee Bullock’s absence through suspension.

“We were really struggling in that area with no Stephen O’Leary, Simon Ramsden or Bully,” said McCall. “I needed a defensive enforcer in there who would track runners and I didn’t want to ask Flynny (Michael Flynn) to do that because it negates his game.

“Zesh won lots of tackles for us, he was strong and covered lots of ground.”

City had practised penalties in training but substitutes O’Brien, who had nailed the spot-kick winner against Notts County, and Brandon both missed.

Williams was the seventh penalty taker when he stepped up to seal a 5-4 success.

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