at Ingfield Stadium
Kick Off: 7.30pm
Bradford City XI 0
Ossett Town 2 (Bordman 65, Blackburn 81)
Pre-season friendly
Tuesday 22 July 2014
A City XI made up largely of trialists and apprentices fell to defeat at the hands of Ossett Town in the club’s latest pre-season friendly.
James Meredith, Jason Kennedy, Matt Taylor and Raffaele De Vita were the four senior Bantams on show but the majority of the City side were a collective of youth team players and trialists.
Meredith and Kennedy played for just over an hour, while De Vita enjoyed 72 minutes in the game. Taylor completed the first half.
First year pro Niall Heaton replaced Meredith at left back for the final 25 minutes of the match.
The hosts opened the scoring in spectacular fashion in the 65th minute when Ossett striker Rob Bordman beat City trialist goalkeeper Matt Urwin from all of 35 yards out with a free-kick.
The Ossett attacker initially looked to be crossing the ball into the box but instead changed his mind before beating Urwin from distance at his near post as the shot-stopper scrambled to try and get across.
The Bantams nearly equalised roughly ten minutes from the end but substitute Reece Webb-Foster’s lob over Ossett ‘keeper Brad Dixon struck the bar after the striker had been played in behind by a quick free-kick from James Pollard.
Shortly after Webb-Foster’s near miss though, Ossett made their victory secure through Luke Blackburn.
Blackburn was on hand to drive home into an unguarded goal after Urwin had pushed the ball off the toes of Joe O’Neill as the forward threatened to run clear on goal.
City fielded as many as six trialists in total, including goalkeepers Urwin and Jay Lynch, during their friendly at Ingfield Stadium.
Fresh from his spell with the senior squad in Ireland, youth team midfielder Sam Wright started the game.
Fellow apprentices Callum Chippendale and Joe Brennan were also named in the starting eleven - Webb-Foster, Pollard, Daniel Devine, Rhys Jenkinson and James King all came off the bench.
With City starting the game using a 4-4-1-1 formation, Kennedy and Wright were partnered together in central midfield, while De Vita played just behind Brennan in attack.
Unfortunately the night would not end well for second-year scholar Brennan, who appeared to go off with an arm injury in the second half.
Former City apprentice Nathan Curtis started the match for Ossett following his recent move to the Evo-Stik First Division North side.
CITY XI
1. Jay Lynch
16. Stuart Bramley
3. James Meredith (c)
6. Matt Taylor
5. Christophe Routis
8. Jason Kennedy
4. Sam Wright
11. Reggie Lambe
7. Callum Chippendale
14. Raffaele De Vita
9. Joe Brennan
Substitutes:
12. Matt Urwin for Lynch (46)
20. James Pollard for Bramley (46)
17. Richard Bryan for Taylor (46)
22. Daniel Devine for Kennedy (65)
23. Niall Heaton for Meredith (65)
21. Reece Webb-Foster for Brennan (70)
19. Rhys Jenkinson for De Vita (72)
18. James King for Routis (80)