BRADFORD CITY AFC

Saturday 27 September 2014
Sky Bet League 1
Bradford City 1 (Yeates 45+3)
Port Vale 1 (Lines pen 12)
Kick Off: 3.00pm
at the Coral Windows Stadium

Attendance: 12,703 (300 visitors)

A fantastic free-kick from Mark Yeates on the stroke of half time was enough to earn City a share of the spoils from a hard-fought contest with Port Vale.

Yeates' free-kick around 25 yards out flew past Chris Neal's despairing dive and into the top corner to cancel out Chris Lines' eleventh minute penalty and earn Phil Parkinson's men a point.

Lines' opener from the spot came after the award of a controversial penalty decision against the Bantams when Rory McArdle was adjudged to have handled Louis Dodds' shot inside the box.

On first glance, the ball did indeed seem to strike McArdle's arm but the contact didn't look to be delibrate at all and the award of a spot-kick appeared very harsh on the Northern Irish international.

City felt further hard done by less than ten minutes later when Gary Liddle was blocked off by Carl Dickinson on the line of the penalty box.

The Bantams protests, led by Parkinson, demanded a home penalty but referee Sebastien Stockbridge elected to give a free-kick right on the edge of the box instead.

With the scores level at half-time thanks to Yeates' fine leveller, City came out of the blocks in impressive fashion after the restart.

Yeates and Billy Clarke fired efforts narrowly wide of the target, while Gary Liddle forced a good save off Neal with a shot from outside early into the second period.

Vale responded later in the half - substitute Chris Birchall heading against the outside the post with one of the visitors' better chances - before both sides had to settle for a point a piece.

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FT: Bradford City 1 Port Vale 1
90+3min: YELLOW CARD - Lines is booked for clipping Morais around midway into City's half of the pitch.
90min: There will be four minutes of time added on at the end of the match.
87min: McArdle heads over from Morais' corner delivery.
86min: SUB - The Bantams bring on Mason Bennett for Clarke.
83min: YELLOW CARD - Clarke is booked for tripping up O'Connor around 25 yards out. The wide free-kick from O'Connor after the foul is headed behind by the far post by Routis.
79min: YELLOW CARD - Pope is booked for catching Routis about midway into City's half with a late tackle.
78min: Yeates fires over the bar direct from a free-kick a couple of yards outside Vale's penalty area.
76min: Ryan McGivern heads over on the stretch from Lines' resulting corner.
76min: McArdle produces an important block to knock Williamson's shot behind for a corner after Lines had lead a dangerous Vale counter-attack.
70min: SUB - The Bantams bring on Oliver McBurnie for Mclean.
65min: SUB - Ben Williamson is brought on by Port Vale for Slew.
65min: Cutting inside from the left flank, Morais drives to the very edge of Vale's penalty area but the Portuguese attacker appears to slip slightly as he strikes for goal and he can only drag his effort wide of the near post.
63min: SUB - The Bantams bring on Filipe Morais for Knott.
61min: Birchall steals in connect with Marshall's cross and his header flicks off the outside of Pickford's near post.
60min: SUB - Chris Birchall is brought on for Dodds for Vale.
60min: Mark Marshall plays the ball across the box to the waiting O'Connor but the midfielder's rushed effort actually goes away from Pickford's goal and out for a throw-in over on the far side.
58min: Clarke's low cross into the area finds Mclean but the striker's shot on the turn from around the penalty spot is prodded over the bar.
57min: Liddle lines up an effort from outside the area and Neal has to produce a fine full stretch save to prevent the powerful effort from finding the top corner.
54min: Knott's neat little ball forward pass finds the run of Yeates inside Vale's penalty area. The ball gets away from Yeates slightly but Clarke is still able to get a shot away and his effort from the edge of the area flies narrowly wide of Neal's far post.
48min: A neat piece of play involving Meredith and Clarke eventually sees Yeates in with a shooting chance by the near side of Neal's goal. Yeates looks to fire for goal from an angle but his effort is seemingly tipped around the post by the Vale shot-stopper. Despite Neal appearing to clearly get his finger-tips onto Yeates' shot though, a goal-line is given, much to annoyance of the Irishman.
46min: Port Vale kick off the second half.
HT: Bradford City 1 Port Vale 1
45+3min: GOAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Bradford City 1 Port Vale 1 - Yeates equalises for the Bantams right on the stroke of half-time! His right-footed effort from the resulting free-kick flies past Neal's dive and into the far top corner.
45+3min: YELLOW CARD - Richard Duffy is booked for bringing down Clarke a few yards outside Vale's penalty area.
45+2min: Kennedy fires over with a drive from just inside the area.
45min: There will be three minutes of time added on at the end of the first half.
42min: Routis goes for goal direct from a free-kick around 25 yards out and the effort sails a yard or so wide of Neal's far post.
38min: YELLOW CARD - After a couple of previous altercations with Tom Pope earlier in the half, Routis is booked for barging into the back of the Vale striker as the pair rose to challenge for an aerial ball just inside City's half of the pitch.
21min: The ball seems to be dropping invitingly into the path of Jordan Slew deep inside City's penalty area as the striker holds off the advances of Christopher Routis. Just as Slew goes to strike for goal from barely yards out, however, Darby comes across to prod the ball off his toes and away.
20min: Billy Knott steps up to take the free-kick but instead of shooting for goal, he passes the ball across the box to Kennedy. Kennedy doesn't seem to be expecting the ball, however, and the midfielder's rushed and scuffed effort for goal dribbles harmlessly wide.
19min: Another piece of controversy for City and their supporters when Gary Liddle is body-checked by Carl Dickinson seemingly just inside Vale's own penalty area. Much to the dismay of the City bench though, only a free-kick on the very edge of the box is awarded, resulting in a fuming Phil Parkinson running down the touchline to air his grievances with the nearby linesman. The City chief is then ushered back into his technical area by the fourth official a few seconds later.
17min: James Meredith's flighted cross to the far post is headed back across the area by Jason Kennedy. The ball drops invitingly in the box for the Bantams but Aaron Mclean and Clarke seem to get in each others way, meaning neither player is able to get a shot away. A corner is awarded a few seconds later when O'Connor is unable to keep the ball in place. City work a short corner from the resulting set-piece but Mark Yeates' low driven centre across the six yard box is held by Neal.
12min: GOAL - Bradford City 0 Port Vale 1 - Chris Lines slots the resulting spot-kick home into the bottom corner, sending Pickford the wrong way in the process.
11min: PENALTY TO PORT VALE - A controversial moment here at the Coral Windows Stadium as Rory McArdle is adjudged to have handled a shot from Dodds inside the box, leading to match referee Sebastien Stocksbridge giving the visitors a penalty. On first glance, the ball may have hit McArdle but the contact didn't seem deliberate - a harsh decision against the Bantams there.
8min: Billy Clarke works his way into a shooting position just inside Vale's penalty area but his left-footed strike curls wide of Chris Neal's far post.
7min: Following a promising Port Vale attack, the ball breaks free to the lurking Louis Dodds just outside City's area. The well-struck drive is goal-bound but the ball is blocked away by the frame of Stephen Darby.
6min: Michael O'Connor tries his luck direct from a free-kick positioned roughly 25 yards out but the effort sails over Jordan Pickford's bar.
0min: The Bantams kick off the match. They will attack towards the T.L Dallas Stand end in the first half.

BRADFORD CITY LINE UP
Pickford, Darby, McArdle, Routis, Meredith, Liddle, Kennedy, Knott, Yeates, Clarke, Mclean

Subs: Williams, Dolan, Sheehan, McBurnie, Morais, Heaton, Bennett

Bradford City cautions:
Routis (38), Clarke (83)

Bradford City changes:
Morais for Knott (63), McBurnie for Mclean (70), Bennett for Clarke (86)

PORT VALE LINE UP
Neal, Yates, McGivern, Duffy, Dickinson, Dodds, O'Connor, Lines, Marshall, Slew, Pope

Subs: Johnson, Robertson, Birchall, Williamson, Daniel, Brown, Moore


Port Vale cautions:
Duffy (45+3), Pope (79), Lines (90+3)

Port Vale changes:
Birchall for Dodds (60), Williamson for Slew (65)

MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee: S Stocksbridge
Assistant Referee: B Gordon
Assistant Referee: S Wade
Fourth Official: P Cook