Bradford City (06-12-2015)

Bradford City 4 - 0 Chesham United (FA Cup 2nd Round), Sunday 6 December 2015

Train ticket £12-30
Tea £1-85
Tea at stadium £2-20
Entry £15
Programme £2
Total £33-35

Taking advantage of the weekend's FA Cup ties I decided to head to Valley Parade. By chance Mrs 'Hopper was off to York to see a friend so we travelled together for once. I arrived in Bradford at 11am so had a couple of hours to kill before KO. After wandering up to the ground for some exterior photos, I found the National Media Museum and its cafe for a cuppa. The air was crisp so I purchased a cheap woolly hat from a Primark, before heading to the ground.

Valley Parade can be seen from some distance away, largely due to its elevated position and the steep L-shaped stand. Presumably this is a legacy of their time in the Premier League at the turn of the century. Due to the relatively low key opposition today the club had only opened the lower tiers of 2 stands for the home fans. £15 entry laterand I was in the bowels of the stadium. Like Burnley the ground has a lot of history, and has also seen its share of developments over the years.

Today's opposition were the lowly Chesham United, who are in the Southern League - the same league as Kings Lynn. To them this was understandably a massive game, and it reminded me fondly of Kings Lynn's run to the FA Cup 2nd Round in 2006-07. The King's Lynn connection continued when I realised they had Matt Nolan (a former striker) on the bench.

Chesham did themselves great credit in this game and the 4-0 score line flattered the home side. There were few chances in a slightly cagey first half, though Bradford had made it 2-0 through goals from Reid and Hanson. Chesham's Blake looked most impressive for them, with a calm assurance when on the ball. Their 8 - Youngs - on the right also looked dangerous, although he couldn't muster any chances of note.

The game gradually opened up a bit on the second period. First Chesham's Blake charged down a clearance from the goalkeeper, then at the other end Darby squared to McMahon who could only fire over. Bradford's Clarke then had a diving header which flew wide of the away post. They looked in charge but were being well contained by Chesham's high work rate and organisation. Chesham had a couple of half chances of note, with Pearce curling wide from the edge of the box and Blake having a one on one shot foiled by the home keeper. They deserved a goal at least but it was the Bantams who grabbed a couple late on. Liddle made it 3-0 with a simple header from a corner and then Cole made it 4-0 when the home attackers outpaced the tired away side. It was an unfair score line though Bradford were probably worth the win.

I headed back to the station with the sky already half-dark, and was glad I'd managed another double header this weekend. Upon arrival at Leeds I discovered that half the trains down to Sheffield were cancelled. After finding Mrs 'Hopper we found a packed and slowish Northern train down to South Yorkshire.