2012–13 Bradford City A.F.C. season

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Winners (promoted)
FA CupSecond Round
League CupRunners-up
Football League TrophyArea Semi-Final
Top goalscorerLeague: Nahki Wells (18)
All: Nahki Wells (26)
Highest home attendance23,971 vs. Arsenal,
League Cup, 11 December
Lowest home attendance2,951 vs. Northampton Town,
FA Cup, 13 November
Average home league attendance10,322

The 2012–13 season was the 110th season in the history of

League Two
.

Pre-season and friendlies

Bradford City started their season with a friendly against

Bray Wanderers
.

Bradford returned to

Bradford Park Avenue
.

Date Opponents H/A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
21 July 2012 Tadcaster Albion A 7–1
Hanson 35', Wells 51', Reid 70', Swain
88' 		693
24 July 2012
Wexford Youths
 A 4–0
Hanson (2) 18', 29', Hannah 20' (pen.), Wells
83' 		n/a
28 July 2012 Bray Wanderers A 2–1 Wells 22', Hannah 62' n/a
1 August 2012 Guiseley FC A 4–0
G. Jones 34', R. Jones 37', Wells
(2) 62', 78' 		n/a
4 August 2012 Bury H 0–3 n/a
7 August 2012
Bradford Park Avenue
 A 1–3
Thompson 23' (pen.
) 		945

League Two

The fixtures for the 2012–13 League Two season were released on 18 June 2012.

City's first game of the season was away to

Byron Harrison clawed a goal back through a header but a comeback was ruled out as Rory McArdle
turned the ball into the net from close range with the assist coming from Davies. The rout was completed just on the stroke of half-time as Wells crossed a ball for Hanson to head in City's fifth goal of the game to take the three points.

The Bantams next game was against

Port Vale
.

Bradford started October with a 0–0 draw against

Burton Albion
.

After the loss at Burton the Bantams earned a point against Chesterfield as the game finished 0–0. Bradford got back to winning ways very soon though as

Bristol Rovers
to round off November.

December started well in the league for Bradford as

Garry Thompson and Alan Connell ensured that they came away with a 2–1 win. However 2012 was to end on a sour note as Rochdale beat the Bantams 4–2, the consolation goals coming from 2 Alan Connell
penalties.

January was a mixed month for Bradford City. They drew to

Oxford United 2–1 (Nahki Wells
scoring Bradford's only goal).

In February, it started off with a 2–2 draw against newly promoted

James Hanson
scoring a late equalizer.

In March, the Bantams came away with 2 wins, 4 draws and only 1 loss. It started with a 2–0 win against

James Hanson
secured the 1 point late in the game.

April was a very busy month for the Bantams as they crammed in fixtures due to their cup run to be runners up in the

Burton Albion. Bradford rounded their league campaign off with a 0–0 draw against Cheltenham Town
which secured Bradford a 7th-place finish.

Date Opponents H/A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance League
position
18 August 2012 Gillingham A 1–3 Wells 62' (pen.) 5,127 18th
21 August 2012 Fleetwood Town H 1–0
Hanson
59' 		9,224 12th
25 August 2012 AFC Wimbledon H 5–1
Hanson
45' 		9,436 4th
1 September 2012 Rotherham United A 0–4 11,199 12th
8 September 2012 Accrington Stanley A 1–1 Connell 83' 3,010 14th
15 September 2012 Barnet H 3–0
Hanson 47', Connell 55', Davies
57' 		9,566 7th
18 September 2012 Morecambe H 3–1
G. Jones
87' 		9,054 5th
22 September 2012 Oxford United A 2–0 Davies 52', Wells 68' 6,032 4th
29 September 2012 Port Vale H 0–1 11,030 6th
2 October 2012 Rochdale A 0–0 3,461 6th
6 October 2012 Dagenham & Redbridge A 3–4 Wells (2) 55', 61' (pen.), Connell 84' 1,768 8th
13 October 2012 York City H 1–1 Hines 59' 11,883 8th
20 October 2012 Cheltenham Town H 3–1 Wells (2) 45' (pen.), 68', Meredith 83' 9,648 5th
23 October 2012 Northampton Town A 1–0 Wells 53' 3,541 5th
27 October 2012 Burton Albion A 0–1 2,791 5th
6 November 2012 Chesterfield H 0–0 8,841 5th
10 November 2012 Aldershot Town A 2–0 Wells (2) 28', 39' 2,143 4th
17 November 2012 Exeter City H 0–1 10,434 7th
20 November 2012 Plymouth Argyle H 1–0
G. Jones
21' 		8,843 5th
24 November 2012 Bristol Rovers A 3–3
Hanson
68' 		5,092 5th
8 December 2012 Torquay United H 1–0 Connell 85' 9,347 4th
15 December 2012 Southend United A 2–2 Wells 28', Prosser 64' (o.g.) 5,142 5th
26 December 2012 Accrington Stanley H 2–1
Thompson 24', Connell
86' 		11,181 5th
29 December 2012 Rochdale H 2–4 Connell (2) 19' (pen.), 36' (pen.) 11,198 6th
1 January 2013 Morecambe A 0–0 3,635 7th
5 January 2013 Barnet A 0–2 2,317 8th
12 January 2013 Oxford United H 1–2 Wells 14' 10,087 9th
2 February 2013 Fleetwood Town A 2–2 Wells 45', Dickson 52' 3,577 10th
9 February 2013 Gillingham H 0–1 10,887 12th
12 February 2013 Wycombe Wanderers A 3–0 Doyle (2) 1', 83' (pen.), Atkinson 81' 3,068 10th
16 February 2013 AFC Wimbledon A 1–2
Thompson
59' 		4,320 11th
27 February 2013 Dagenham & Redbridge H 1–1
Hanson
86' 		10,006 12th
2 March 2013 York City A 2–0
Thompson
86' 		5,678 12th
5 March 2013 Port Vale A 0–0 4,281 10th
9 March 2013 Aldershot Town H 1–1 Connell 90' (pen.) 10,397 11th
12 March 2013 Plymouth Argyle A 0–0 5,609 11th
16 March 2013 Exeter City A 1–4 Reid 79' 4,199 12th
19 March 2013 Wycombe Wanderers H 1–0
Thompson
7' 		8,047 11th
29 March 2013 Southend United H 2–2
Hanson
83' 		10,598 11th
1 April 2013 Torquay United A 3–1
Hanson
48' 		2,569 9th
6 April 2013 Northampton Town H 1–0 Wells 23' 10,389 8th
9 April 2013 Bristol Rovers H 4–1
Thompson
57' 		10,621 7th
13 April 2013 Chesterfield A 2–2 Wells 36', Ravenhill 79' 7,290 7th
16 April 2013 Rotherham United H 0–2 13,461 7th
20 April 2013 Burton Albion H 1–0
Hanson
44' 		13,235 7th
27 April 2013 Cheltenham Town A 0–0 5,888 7th
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Promotion, qualification or relegation
5 Cheltenham Town 46 20 15 11 58 51 +7 75 Qualification for League Two play-offs[a]
6 Northampton Town 46 21 10 15 64 55 +9 73
7 Bradford City (O, P) 46 18 15 13 63 52 +11 69
8 Chesterfield 46 18 13 15 60 45 +15 67
9 Oxford United 46 19 8 19 59 60 −1 65
Updated to match(es) played on 27 April 2013. Source: BBC Sport[needs update]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Number of goals scored
(O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted
Notes:
  1. ^ Four teams play for one spot and promotion to Football League One.

Play-offs

After finishing seventh in League Two, City were entered into the end-of-season play-offs to determine who would get promoted to

Alex McDonald crossed the ball to Robbie Weir
, who scored at the near post to take Burton to a 3–1 lead. As they have done all season, Bradford came out with a little bit of fight and Thompson scored in the 74th minute with a thunderous drive after cutting inside from the right. The 3–2 loss meant that the Bantams would have to win by two or more goals in the second leg to reach the final.

The second leg started with Burton having a few early chances, but the Bantams were the first to strike.

Garry Thompson
brought him down in the area, but the Bantams had the final word as McLaughlin produced a long free-kick that Wells controlled with ease before turning and shooting to score in the 57th minute to give Bradford a 3–1 lead. Some great defensive play kept Burton out and Bradford progress to the play-off final as this win gave them a 5–4 win on aggregate.

The final marked the second time that Bradford City had been to

League Two
after seven consecutive years in the Football League's bottom divisions.

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
2 May 2013 Semi-final
First leg 		Burton Albion H 2–3
Thompson
74' 		14,657
5 May 2013 Semi-final
Second leg 		Burton Albion A 3–1
Hanson
50' 		6,148
18 May 2013
Final
 Northampton Town N 3–0
Hanson 15', McArdle 19', Wells
28' 		47,127

FA Cup

City entered the FA Cup at the First Round stage with the other League One and Two clubs. They were drawn against fellow League Two side Northampton Town. After drawing 1–1 at Northampton, Bradford secured a win in the replay by winning 4–2 on penalties after a very late Carl McHugh goal took the game to 3–3 in the final minute of extra time.

In the Second Round, the Bantams were drawn at home against

James Hanson ensured a replay was to be played after the game finished at 1–1, but the Bantams were beaten in the replay, going down 4–2 after extra time, despite taking the lead in the 94th minute from an Alan Connell
penalty.

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
3 November 2012 Round 1 Northampton Town A 1–1 Atkinson 32' 2,512
13 November 2012 Round 1
Replay 		Northampton Town H 3–3
(4–2
p
) 		Atkinson 35', Wells 90' (pen.), McHugh 120' 2,951
30 November 2012 Round 2 Brentford H 1–1
Hanson
70' 		3,620
18 December 2012 Replay Brentford A 2–4
(a.e.t.) 		Reid 34', Connell 94' (pen.) 2,643

League Cup

City entered the

Garry Thompson
to progress through.

On paper, it looked like City had an easier tie in the Third Round after being drawn against fellow

League Cup
dreams alive and also preserving their unbeaten penalty shoot-out run.

The Fifth Round draw was made and City were drawn at home against Premier League side

Gary Jones and Alan Connell scoring for Bradford, and Santi Cazorla (saved by Matt Duke), Marouane Chamakh (post) and Thomas Vermaelen
(post) all missing their penalties for Arsenal.

Bradford were drawn against another Premier League side in the Semi-finals, this time

Swansea City
.

A fairy tale ending was not to be as Premier League side

Jonathan de Guzman in the box, de Guzman then slotted the penalty past replacement keeper Jon McLaughlin. De Guzman was on hand again as he slotted home a cross in the 90th minute to ensure that Bradford City were beaten 5–0 and Swansea lifted the League Cup as well as securing a spot in the 2013–14 Europa League
.

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
11 August 2012 Round 1 Notts County A 1–0
(a.e.t.)
Hanson
95' 		3,460
28 August 2012 Round 2 Watford A 2–1
Thompson
90' 		5,560
25 September 2012 Round 3 Burton Albion H 3–2
(a.e.t.) 		Wells (2) 83', 90', Darby 115' 4,178
30 October 2012 Round 4 Wigan Athletic A 0–0
(4–2
p
) 		11,777
11 December 2012 Round 5 Arsenal H 1–1
(3–2
p
)
Thompson
16' 		23,971
8 January 2013 Semi-final
First leg 		Aston Villa H 3–1 Wells 19', McArdle 77', McHugh 88' 22,245
22 January 2013 Semi-final
Second leg 		Aston Villa A 1–2
Hanson
55' 		40,193
24 February 2013 Final Swansea City N 0–5 82,597

Football League Trophy

City began their Football League Trophy campaign in the Second Round stage after receiving a bye in the First Round. They were drawn against League One side Hartlepool United. The Bantams, however, kept the higher league side to a 0–0 draw and took the game to penalties which Bradford won 3–2. City then faced League Two side Port Vale in the Area Quarter-final, where the Bantams came away with a 2–0 win thanks to goals from Ritchie Jones and Craig Forsyth. Their Football League Trophy dream ended, though, as they were taken apart in the Area Semi-final by a clinical Crewe Alexandra side (from League One), losing 4–1 with Kyel Reid scoring the Bantams only goal.

Date Round Opponents H / A Result
F–A 		Scorers Attendance
10 October 2012 Round 2 Hartlepool United A 0–0
(3–2
p
) 		1,777
4 December 2012 Area Quarter-final Port Vale A 2–0 R. Jones 46', Forsyth 55' 2,786
16 January 2013 Area Semi-final Crewe Alexandra A 1–4 Reid 18' 2,935

Squad statistics

No. Pos. Name League FA Cup League Cup League Trophy Total Discipline
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
1 GK Scotland Jon McLaughlin 23 0 2 0 1(1) 0 3 0 32(1) 0 1 0
2 DF England Stephen Darby 33(2) 0 3 0 8 1 2 0 49(2) 1 2 0
3 DF Australia James Meredith 32 1 3 0 5 0 0(1) 0 43(1) 1 2 0
4 MF England Ricky Ravenhill 21(1) 1 3 0 1 0 3 0 29(2) 1 6 1
5 DF England Andrew Davies 27(1) 4 0 0 1(1) 0 1 0 31(2) 4 1 1
6 DF England Luke Oliver 15 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 17 0 2 0
7 MF England Kyel Reid 25(8) 2 1 1 1(2) 1 1 1 30(11) 5 3 0
9 FW
James Hanson
 38(4) 10 2(1) 1 6(2) 2 1(1) 0 50(8) 15 6 0
10 FW
Andy Gray
 6(1) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 7(1) 0 1 0
11 MF
Garry Thompson
 26(15) 6 2(1) 0 6(1) 2 2 0 39(17) 9 3 0
12 GK England Matt Duke 23(1) 0 2 0 7 0 0 0 32(1) 0 0 1
13 DF England Dean Overson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
14 MF England Will Atkinson 26(16) 1 2(1) 2 8 0 1 0 38(19) 3 1 0
16 DF Republic of Ireland Carl McHugh 12(4) 1 3 1 6 1 2(1) 0 23(5) 3 5 0
17 FW England Alan Connell 8(22) 8 4 1 3(2) 0 3 0 18(26) 9 3 0
18 MF
Gary Jones
 38(1) 2 1(2) 0 7(1) 0 0(1) 0 49(5) 2 4 0
19 FW England Adam Baker 0 0 0(2) 0 0(2) 0 0 0 0(4) 0 0 0
20 MF England Zavon Hines 19(13) 2 2 0 5(1) 0 0(1) 0 26(15) 2 4 0
21 FW Bermuda Nahki Wells 28(10) 18 0(3) 1 5(2) 3 0(2) 0 36(17) 26 6 0
22 DF England Michael Nelson 12(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13(1) 0 0 0
23 DF Northern Ireland Rory McArdle 38(2) 2 3(1) 0 8 1 1 0 53(3) 4 3 0
24 MF England Nathan Doyle 34(3) 2 2 0 5(2) 0 1(2) 0 44(8) 2 10 1
30 MF
Scott Brown
 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0
31 MF England Forrayah Bass 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
32 DF England Connor Erangey 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
33 FW England Louie Swain 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
34 FW England Nathan Curtis 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0
35 MF England Calum Hepworth 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
- FW England Ross Hannah 0(1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0(1) 0 0 0
- MF England Ritchie Jones 2(2) 0 2 0 0(1) 0 3 1 7(3) 1 0 0
- DF England Ryan Dickson 3(2) 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4(2) 1 0 0
- MF Scotland Craig Forsyth 5(2) 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6(2) 1 0 0
- DF Republic of Ireland John Egan 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0
- DF England Tom Naylor 4(1) 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 6(1) 0 0 0
- MF England Blair Turgott 0(4) 0 2 0 0(3) 0 2 0 4(7) 0 0 0
- DF Australia Curtis Good 2(1) 0 1 0 3 0 2 0 8(1) 0 0 0
— – Own goals – 2 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 2 – –

Statistics accurate as of 19 May 2013

References

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