Bradford City vs. Burton Albion - Final Third Development League
Luke James and Paul Anderson stole the show as Burton were humbled 5-0 by a strong Bradford City side at Valley Parade.James, on loan at the Bantams from Peterborough, was exceptional throughout the game and it didn’t take him long to show his class as he but Bradford ahead in the seventh minute. The forward did brilliantly to hold onto possession a slip but he regained composure and cut inside from the left before unleashing a shot that flew into the top right corner, beating captain Dean Lyness.
Bradford dominated the early going as Burton struggled to maintain any real pressure and the home side imposed their dominance by doubling their lead in the 19th minute. James, who was putting in a workmanlike performance, was able to evade the Brewers’ defence with a clever run before teeing up Paul Anderson to score from close range.
Just eight minutes later it was 3-0 as James once again caused trouble in the Albion defence which led to Reece Webb-Foster forcing a brilliant point blank save from Lyness, only for his hard work to be undone as Dylan Mottley-Henry, another star of the show, tapped home the rebound.
James and Anderson would again combine late in the first half when James played a perfectly weighted pass into the former Ipswich man and he again beat Lyness for his second and Bradford’s fourth.
Bradford had put out a highly experienced side, with former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones in goals just one of the well known faces in the home side’s line up. Burton struggled to compete and often caught leaving space out wide, something that Bradford exploited on a number of occasions.
The second half seemed more like a personal battle between Lyness and Webb-Foster as the Burton captain made a number of fine stops to save his side from further embarrassment. Luke James added his second, and Bradford’s fifth late on as he rounded off a miserable day for the Brewers.
The closest Burton came to a consolation was through Joe Sbarra , who fired across goal following a smart passing move. Despite the lack of positives, Mike Whitlow and Neill Hornby will surely be happy to see their youngsters competing against first team players and gaining invaluable experience.