Bradford City are through to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals for the first time since their famous run to Wembley in 2013, after goals from Macaulay Gillesphey and Adam Phillips settled a 2-0 win over Peterborough United at Valley Parade on Tuesday night.
On a night when Fleetwood produced the giant-killing of the round elsewhere, Bradford made sure the other all-lower-league tie did not need penalties or drama at the death. The upset at Highbury Stadium will take the headlines, but the Bantams led early, survived Peterborough's best spell at the start of the second half, and then killed the game with a second goal that sent Valley Parade dreaming again.
Gillesphey answers Duff's set-piece call
Manager Michael Duff had called on his side to be more productive from corners, and they obeyed him after just 13 minutes. Brandon Khela had already driven an early Peterborough chance wide, but when Callum Connolly swung in a corner, defender Gillesphey turned it in to give Bradford the lead that Sky Sports and the match reports all agreed settled the home crowd.
Bradford should have doubled it before the break. Reece Welch's long pass sent Jake Beesley away, and when the move continued, Peterborough goalkeeper Alex Bass denied Bobby Pointon a second goal with a sprawling save. Bass saved again from Ibou Touray's low shot, while Ethan Williams offered a brief threat at the other end just before half-time.
Peterborough push, Phillips finishes it
Peterborough, to their credit, came out strongly after the restart. Jon McCracken saved from Owura Edwards and then denied Vernon Masara in a one-on-one, and Williams went even closer when his effort hit the bar. For a few minutes, the quarter-final place that had looked secure was suddenly in doubt.
Substitute Phillips ended that doubt on 67 minutes. After a one-two with Beesley, his shot took a deflection and looped over Bass for 2-0 — and Phillips was not finished, having another effort cleared off the line late on as Bradford chased a third that their second-half control probably deserved.
Duff, speaking after the game and quoted by DAZN, was honest rather than euphoric. "I didn't think we were great first half," he said. "There were quite a few things we didn't like about it but the positive was that we scored from a set-piece. Once the subs came on, I thought they settled us down, and I thought we controlled the rest of the game. We probably rode our luck a little bit. But if we're talking about a game based on chances, we had a lot more than they did."
He also complained that Bradford had a goal disallowed that should have stood, and missed chance after chance in a second half he did not want to turn into a "basketball game" — a fair description of an end-to-end cup tie between two League One sides who both knew a quarter-final place, and a possible glamour draw, was on the line.
So what: the 2013 echoes are real
The history matters here. Bradford's last quarter-final in this competition came in the 2012-13 season, when, as a League Two side, they beat Arsenal on penalties at Valley Parade on the way to beating Aston Villa over two legs and reaching the Wembley final, where they lost to Swansea City. That Arsenal defeat was also the last time the Gunners lost to a fourth-tier side in this cup before Tuesday, a night Mikel Arteta called "a very sad day" in his reaction afterwards.
Bradford are a League One club now, not fourth-tier dreamers, but the prize is the same: a place in the last eight alongside, potentially, Liverpool or Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle, with the remaining fourth-round ties to be played on Wednesday and Thursday and the quarter-final draw to follow. Whoever they get, Valley Parade will believe — because this club, more than most, knows what this competition can do.
Beyond the Final Whistle: This was not a fluke and it was not a smash-and-grab. Bradford scored from the set-piece their manager had demanded, rode the one spell when Peterborough threatened, and then brought on the substitute who finished the tie. Duff's refusal to pretend the first half was good is exactly why this run feels sustainable rather than lucky. The Bantams may not reach Wembley again — but on Tuesday night they earned the right to dream about it, and that is what the Carabao Cup is for. Who do you want Bradford to draw in the quarter-finals? Let us know in the comments.
