League One leaders Bradford City fought from two goals down to take a point in a thrilling Yorkshire derby at Rotherham United on Thursday evening.
Early Bantams Chances
Will Swan will feel aggrieved that he didn’t twice break the deadlock inside the opening six minutes. After the Millers had the first opportunity when Denzel Hall’s feeble effort from was easily parried away by Sam Walker, Swan dragged his effort wide of the mark from Alex Pattison’s ball.
Just a minute later, the Bantams launched a counter-attack, and this time Antoni Sarcevic fed the visiting forward. But Cameron Dawson made himself big to deny the ex-Mansfield Town striker his fifth goal of the season.
Punishment & Controversy
And Bradford were made to pay for them missed chances when a superb, intricate move, which started with Kion Etete and Jamal Baptiste, gave the Millers the lead. Josh Benson, who has played barely 500 minutes in League One across the past two seasons, showed his obvious quality when fit to provide a neat flick into the path of Denzel Hall. He set himself on the edge of the penalty area to arrow an effort that Sam Walker could only push into the bottom left-hand corner.
There was little in the way of appeals when Swan was adjudged to have been offside before Bobby Pointon’s tap-in was chalked off. But the visitors felt aggrieved that Baptiste didn’t see red after hauling down Pattison, with Swan also receiving a caution for his protests to referee Ollie Yates.
Eventual Comeback
Everton loanee Martin Sherif was introduced after the interval, and his impact was immediate. Another fine Millers move saw Ar’Jany Martha advance through the middle of the park, finding Reece James, whose low ball was swept home by Sherif in the middle. That prompted a Bradford response, and they had a goal back five minutes later.
Tyreik Wright began the move by finding Swan, who played the ball back out to Josh Neufville. His expert delivery was guided home by the chest of Sarcevic into the far corner. Pattison missed a guilt-edged chance to bring Bradford level, but made no mistake with nine minutes to play.
Andy Cook tirelessly chased Lenny Agbaire and was duly rewarded. Although it appeared the chance was gone with Rotherham defenders back, Cook slid the ball through to Pattison, who emphatically pulled the Bantams level.
Writer’s View
Bradford showed real character to fight from two down, in a game they had the better of, even when they were behind. Rotherham, meanwhile, will feel aggrieved to have let another lead slip, particularly after scoring so early in the second period. That’s ten points dropped from winning positions this season for Matt Hamshaw’s outfit.
