Full time at Valley Parade: Bradford 0-0 Reading
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeep! Neil Swarbrick draws proceedings to a close with three blasts of his whistle. It was quite a scrap, low on quality and the two sides will now have to meet again at the Madejski Stadium. They’ll both be in the hat for the semi-final draw and one of them will be going to Wembley for a semi-final.
90+7 min: Norwood sends a long diagonal ball to the corner for Gareth McCleary to chase, but Stephen Darby wins a free-kick for Bradford, deep inside their own half.
90+6 min: Pearce has a Superman quick costume change on the sideline and returns to action. There’s about a minute of time added on to added time remaining.
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90+5 min: Holding a hankie to his nose, Pearce walks to the touchline with blood all over one sleeve of his shirt - he’ll have to change that before he returns to action.
90+3 min: Alex Pearce continues to sit on the ground getting treatment as the Reading physio tries to staunch the flow of blood from his nose.
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90+1 min: Reading captain Alex Pearce looks unsteady on his feet after shipping a blow to the face from the back of Zoke’s head during an aerial challenge. There’s claret everywhere - it looks like the Reading centre-half, who’s been immense today, might have a souvenir from today’s match in the shape of a mangled nose.
89 min: Replays show that Norwood’s free-kick didn’t actually hit the post, it was handled on to the woodwork by Pogrebnyak. The ref didn’t spot the infringement, or else did but decided it was unintentional.
86 min: The Pog goes a galloping down the left flank and is brought down, earning Reading a free-kick in a dangerous position. Oliver Norwood’s curling free-kick from the left hits the upright and the ball is half-cleared to Akpan, who has an air-shot from 10 metres. He could have won the match for his team if he’d connected.
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83 min: Bradford double substitution: Billy Knott and Billy Clarke off, Mark Yeates and Francois Zoko on. Reading substitution: Nathaniel Chalobah off, Hope Akpan on.
82 min: There’s a break in play as Nathanial Chalobah gets treatment after getting an accidental whack in the face from one of his own team-mates.
82 min: Billy Clarke picks up the ball just inside the Reading half and gallops into space. He picks out James Hanson on the left wing and his attempt to cross the ball with his left foot results in a Reading goal-kick.
79 min: Reading substitution: Jamie Mackie makes way for Yakubu. “Feed the Yak and he will score!” sing the Reading fans.
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78 min: James Hanson is penalised for backing into a Reading defender and the visitors win a free-kick inside their own penalty area.
76 min: Bradford substitution: Felipe Morais off, Andrew Halliday on. Morais had to pass a fitness test this morning, which may explain why his number has been hoisted.
74 min: Bradford win a free-kick wide on the right and this time the delivery from Felipe Morais is excellent. He sends it into the mixer, where Andrew Davies gives his marker and sends a meaty header fizzing over the bar. He should have scored!
73 min: Bradford win a throw-in halfway inside the Reading half. It’s flung long toewards the byline and Billy Clarke gets a cross in. Adam Federici collects comfortably.
70 min: Chance! On the right-hand side of the penalty area, Jon Stead picks up a ball sent down the inside right and pulls it back for James Hanson. It’s slightly behind the Bradford No9, who is forced to stretch every sinew. He hooks the ball inches wide of the right upright.
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69 min: On a rare second-half sortie into the Bradford half, Reading get a cross into the penalty area from the foot of Nathaniel Chalobah. Ben Williams claims it comfortably.
66 min: James Meredith goes lolloping down the left flank from Bradford, but is stopped by McCleary. The quality of football here is atrocious, but it’s a tense match. Bradford are dominating possession, but just can’t create any chances.
65 min: Reading substitution: Hal Robson-Kanu off, Gareth McCleary on. That’s a like for like switch.
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62 min: Great challenge from Stephen Kelly, who slides in to prevent Jon Stead from pulling the trigger after the Bradford striker had latched on to a long ball from midfield and beaten the centre-halves.
60 min: “I noticed that at the start of the 2nd half you said ‘Bradford get the ball rolling’,” writes Mark Judd. “I think ‘get the ball trundling through the mud’ might have been more appropriate.” It’s all Bradford at the moment, but they’re creating little or nothing in the way of goal-scoring chances.
58 min: Heaven help us all. Jon Stead finds himself in space just inside the Reading penalty area and slashes wildly at the ball, which is blocked by Michael Hector. He slices his attempted clearance, the ball spirals up in the air and drops for Jordan Obita, who clears it down the pitch with an agricultural hoof.
57 min: Bradford attack down the left, but once again the quality of delivery into the penalty area is poor. Reading clear their lines.
55 min: Bradford win a free-kick wide on the left. Once again, the delivery from Morais is atrocious and fails to clear the first man. For the third time in succession, Chalobah clears the ball with as meaty header.
54 min: Another corner for Bradford, this time off Chalobah. Once again, Morais sends it to the near post, where Chalobah clears again. That’s a woeful exhibition of corner-taking. Woeful.
53 min: Bradford win a corner, with the ball; going out off Jamie Mackie. Replays suggest the ball actually went out off Billy Clarke, so Bradford have this corner in error. Felipe Morais swings the ball into the penalty area, but it’s cleared by Chalobah at the near post.
50 min: Ha! It’s not just me: “Don’t know about you but I am having difficulty seeing the ball,” writes JR in Illinois. “This pinkish one they’re using is essentially the same color as the pitch and when it’s in the air it blends into the background.” Pffft! It’s not “pinkish”, it’s officially FA-sanctioned “mango”.
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48 min: Good work down the right touchline from Morais, who sends a cross into the penalty area. Adam Federici plucks the ball from the air for Reading, with James Hanson lurking.
46 min: Reading win a corner, then another one. Liddle clears for Bradford.
Bradford v Reading - second half is go ...
Bradford get the ball rolling, with the bright sunshine and the brown pitch making it quite difficult to see the mango-coloured ball they’re using in the FA Cup. Bradford immediately have a decent chance, when a cross from the left finds its way to Felipe Morais at the near post, who dithers over his shot. He should have scored, or at least got his shot on target rather than scuffing one back across the area.
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Some half-time reading ...
Weekend column on Louis van Gaal, his vision for football and trying to understand "the philosophy" http://t.co/R4kHXkrFmx
— Daniel Taylor (@DTguardian) March 7, 2015
Half-time at Valley Parade: Bradford 0-0 Reading
After 45 minutes of full-blooded, wholly committed thud-and-blunder, the sides go in for their half-time brew with the deadlock very much intact. They’ve both hit the woodwork, but decent chances have been at a premium.
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45+2 min: With the last kick of the first half, Felipe Morais sends a cross high and wide. It’ll have taken a bobble off a divot, obviously.
45 + 1 min: Reading win a free-kick in the centre-circle, for a foul by Gary Liddle. From this they win a throw-in and Danny Williams has a speculative shot blocked by his team-mate Pogrebnyak.
44 min: Hoof! Head-tennis! Hoof! More head-tennis! Slide! Crunch! Throw-in.
40 min: Danny Williams wins an aerial challenge, drives foreward and spots Bradford goalkeeper Ben Williams off his line. Williams tries to score from distance, but fails to make clean contact on the ball. Moments later, he attempts to beat his namesake from all of 40 metres out, but sends the ball high and wide.
39 min: Bradford win a throw-in, halfway inside the Reading half. They move further up the pitch, with James Meredith sending in a decent cross which is cleared by Alex Pearce.
37 min: Bradford defender Rory McArdle is shown a yellow card for some off the ball indiscretion.
35 min: Bradford win a free-kick for a Michael Hector shove on Jon Stead. It’s wide on the right in the Reading half, in a good position. Felipe Morais sends the ball into the penalty area and Pearce clears it. Liddle picks up the ball and sends a wonderful cross from the left, back into the penalty area. It evades Adam Federici and hits the upright.
33 min: Oof! Bradford right-back Stephen Darby and Reading left-back Jordan Orbita contest a 50-50 ball with a bone-crunching challenge. Both men pick themselves off the floor and get on with the game, which is heartwarming to see.
32 min: With a little over 30 minutes gone, this match remains absorbing and reasonably entertaining, but not one for the purists.
30 min: Reading win a free-kick, wide on the left. The ball’s swung into the Bradford penalty area, where Hanson clears at the back post.
28 min: The Pog rattles the Bradford woodwork with a rasping shot after good work from Jamie Mackie, who did well to prevent the ball from going out for a throw-in as he rampaged down the right and sent in a cross.
27 min: Jon Stead attempts to control a ball into the box from the right, but it clanks off his shin and into the warm embrace of Adam Federici.
23 min: For Reading, Danny Williams rides a tackle in the corner, drives into the box and sends a cross towards the near post. It takes a deflection off Bill Knott and goalkeeper Ben Williams has to be alert to prevent the ball from sneaking past him and into the goal.
21 min: Deep in Bradford territory, Pavel Pogrebnyak (aka The Pog), plays the ball wide to Stephen Kelly, whose attempted cross is atrocious. That’s poor from the handsome Dubliner, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and blame the pitch.
19 min: From a goal-kick, Ben Williams launches the ball down the middle and Bradford win a throw-in deep in the opposition half. Alex Pearce heads the ball clear.
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17 min: Bradford win a free-kick not too far outside their own penalty, for a Hal Robson-Kanu foul on ... somebody. Scrappy, stop-start stuff with Bradford having slightly the better of proceedings as we approach the 20-minute mark.
15 min: It’s been full-blooded thus far, a proper FA Cup tie. Not for the first time, a player goes to ground holding his head. This time it’s James Hanson, who clashed with Stephen Kelly. Bradford win a free-kick and send the ball into the Reading penalty area, but Michael Hector gets above Jon Stead to clear.
13 min: The ball’s crossed by Meredith into the Reading penalty area, where Hanson and Davies combine, but fail to trouble Adam Federici in the Reading goal. He saves comfortably from Hanson’s header.
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12 min: Free-kick for Bradford, just inside the reading half. Felipe Morais sends the ball long towards Andrew Davies, who knocks it down. Nathaniel Chabolah clears for Reading.
10 min: After another aerial challenge, this time between Bradford’s James Hanson and Reading’s Alex Pearce. The linesman signals a free-kick for Hanson in a good position for Bradford, but referee Neil Swarbrick over-rules him and gives it the other way.
8 min: Bradford win a throw-in, halfway inside the Reading half on the left-hand side of the pitch. The ball’s chucked towards Liddle, who attempts to play a long diagonal to the far corner, only to see the ball go out for a throw-in. Long diagonal passes seem to be top of the Bradford manifesto for this afternoon’s game.
7 min: James Meredith goes to ground holding his head after contesting a high ball with Jamie Mackie. There’s another pause in play.
6 min: Bradford left-back James Meredith goes a-rampaging down the left flank and sends in a cross towards, Billy Clarke, who attempts to tee up Jon Stead with a little back-heel. He miscontrols and Reading clear their lines.
4 min: Liddle receives treatment and is OK. From the ensuing drop-ball, Pavel Pogrebnyak rolls the ball back to Bradford goalkeeper Ben Williams.
2 min: Reading midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah contests a high ball with his Bradford counterpart Gary Liddle, who goes down with a head injury after the fully committed challenge. It’s a head injury, so Neil Swarbrick stops play.
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1 min: Play commences and Reading immediately win a free-kick wide on the right for a Billy Knott foul on Jamie Mackie. The ball’s sent into the penalty area and comfortably cleared. Bradford win a throw-in deep in their own half.
Not long now: The teams march out on the pitch at a packed Valley Parade, where Reading’s travelling fans occupy all of one stand spanning one side of the pitch. Bradford wear their usual home colours of claret and amber striped shirts, black shorts and black socks. Reading’s wear blue and white hoops, blue shorts and white socks.
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An email from Nathan Evans: “Reading’s most famous celebrity fan is probably Bill Oddie,” he writes. “Disturbingly the hardcore fans sing, ‘Bill Oddie, Bill Oddie ... rub your beard all over my body’.”
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Late referee change: Neil Swarbrick will be refereeing today, not Lee Mason.
Bradford v Reading - line-ups
Bradford: Williams, Darby, McArdle, Davies, Meredith, Knott,
Liddle, Morais, Clarke, Stead, Hanson.
Subs: Pickford, Sheehan, Zoko, Yeates, MacKenzie, Routis, Halliday.
Reading: Federici, Liam Kelly, Pearce, Hector, Obita, Norwood,
Williams, Chalobah, Robson-Kanu, Pogrebnyak, Mackie.
Subs: Gunter, Cox, McCleary, Akpan, Yakubu, Andersen, Cooper.
Referee: Lee Mason (Lancashire)
Interesting fact: The current FA Cup is the third incarnation of the trophy and a direct replica of the one designed by Messrs Fattorini and Sons of Bradford in 1911, which had to be replaced in the 1980s due to wear and tear. Coincidentally, Bradford were the first winners of the locally designed trophy, in 1911.
So, who’s going to win? Despite sitting in the division below Reading, Bradford are the slight favourites to win today’s match. The recent form of both teams has been patchy, with each having won one and drawn one of their last four. Curiously, Bradford’s win came against Crawley Town earlier this week, when Phil Parkinson fielded a shadow side in a bid to keep his first choice players fresh for this weekend’s big match. Top local celebrity fans Kiki Dee, Gareth Gates and some bloke from Emmerdale have been wishing the hosts well this week.
Here's how the teams line up for the #FACup quarter final clash between @officialbantams and @ReadingFC. #WeAreIn pic.twitter.com/hKW4RyYdbq
— The FA (@FA) March 7, 2015
Good day, one and all. Valley Parade is the venue for the first of the weekend’s FA Cup quarter-finals, where Bradford entertain Reading. Eighth in League One, the Bantams have played seven times in this year’s tournament already, scoring at least two goals in each match and seeing off Halifax, Dartford, Millwall, Chelsea and Sunderland in the process.
Reading are 18th in the Championship, 10 points clear of the relegation zone and have beaten fellow second division sides Huddersfield, Cardiff and Derby County en route to the last eight. Today’s game is their fourth on the road in this season’s FA Cup and given the state of the Valley Parade morass, could be their most challenging yet.
Through no fault of their chief groundsman, who has been the recipient of much sympathy from team manager Phil Parkinson, who has been critical of the club’s bean-counters for not providing the financial resources to sort out a pitch that is arguably the least conducive to attractive football in the all four tiers of the League and in such a poor state that even the local gnomes refuse to play on it.
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