Yesterday (Wednesday), we revealed number 6 in the countdown from 10 to 1 of the list of best City victories from throughout the 2014-15 season. Number 6 was of course the 2-1 victory against MK Dons at Stadium mk, early in the season; quick fire goals scored by Aaron Mclean, and Billy Clarke confirmed the victory that night. At 5, it’s the 2-1 away win at Preston North End; like MK Dons, North End were also promoted to the Championship.
Preston North End1 (Garner 85)
Bradford City2 (McArdle 26, Yeates 86)
15/11/14 – Deepdale
The Bantams produced a magnificent victory at Deepdale, and it was a defeat for North End that was ultimately the only one they suffered on their own patch throughout the whole of the 2014-15 season, and in fact their only league loss at Deepdale since December 2013.
Rory McArdle’s deflected header mid-way through the first half gave City the lead, and it was one that stunned the hosts, who were attempting to move into the automatic promotion places with victory; Bradford were in the bottom half of the table going into this one.
City repelled Preston pressure, but the barricade was broken with 5 minutes remaining, as League One Player of the Year Joe Garner equalised for Simon Grayson’s side.
The Bantams spent no time feeling sorry for themselves though, and straight from the restart, they went up the other end and scored a great team goal, Mark Yeates with the decisive touch, curling into the far corner from outside the area to spark wild celebrations. The win was a real turning point for Phil Parkinson’s men, who won four and drew two of their next six league matches.
Starting XI:
Pickford, Darby ©, McArdle, Davies, Meredith, Morais (Sheehan 88), Halliday (Liddle 69), Kennedy, Yeates, Clarke (Hanson 76), Stead
Unused Subs:
Williams, Routis, Dolan, Knott
10,302 (1,310 City fans)Attendance:
Parkinson’s Reaction:
‘I’m very pleased. I thought we started with real intent today. We spoke to the lads about coming here to be positive; if you come to Preston and sit back, they’ve got quality players who can hurt us.’
‘Right from the first whistle, we closed them down all over the pitch, got corners early in the game, got some good crosses in, and were probably unlucky not to get the second goal in that first half period.’
‘We knew in the second half that they’d throw caution to the wind, they gambled and threw Kevin Davies on, and then threw diagonals (passes) onto us.’
‘We had chances ourselves on the break to extend the lead, and when Preston got the equaliser it was a low moment, but it didn’t last for long because Yeatesy (Mark Yeates) has then produced a moment of pure magic.’
League Table:
12 | Port Vale - 22
13 | Bradford - 22
14 | Chesterfield - 21
15 | Crawley - 20
Press play on the YouTube video below, to watch highlights of the victory at Deepdale.
We will be bringing you number 4 in the list tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled!