City didn’t start the game particularly well with Alnwick taking the lead after just three minutes thanks to a great break straight through the City defence. After Alnwick’s early goal the game became scrappy as City tried to get back into the game and Alnwick tried to hold onto their lead, it was like this until the twelfth minute when a fantastic free-kick from City’s Norde found its way to Woodcock who put the ball into the back of the net to draw the game level.
In the twenty-first minute Woodcock got her second of the game in a very similar way to her first, another great free-kick from Norde found its way to Woodcock who put City in the lead. Set pieces, especially free kicks, are definitely becoming a threat for City now and it is nice to see them capitalising on Norde’s ability to get a great ball into the box.
Just 6 minutes after Woodcock’s second goal Knight extended City’s lead with a fantastic curling shot from outside the box which the Alnwick keeper had no chance of saving. City didn’t stop there though and kept creating plenty of chances for themselves, however, the Alnwick keeper did well to keep City at bay but that all changed in the thirty-fourth minute when Stuart finally beat the ‘keeper to get her name on the score sheet. Stuart managed to break through the Alnwick defence and fire it home to take City into half time with a 4-1 lead.
The second half started off with City creating themselves some great chances but just couldn’t add to their lead. City’s 5th and final goal came in the sixty-ninth minute with Hawkins finally getting herself on the score sheet after being denied so many times previously in the game. Once that fifth goal went in for City they still continued to press and look for a 6th however, they just couldn’t find the back of the net one final time and the game ended 5-1 to the home team.
City definitely started off slow however, once they really got into the game they looked threatening on the attack and at times they moved the ball around really well. As for our player of the match pick I think it is safe to say there are a few players who could walk away with this however for us it is a tie between Stuart and Hawkins. Both these players had a great game and made an impact on the game for the full 90 minutes. Stuart and Hawkins both got on the score sheet but they also created some great passages of play to set up some great chances for each other and the rest of the team.
This was City’s first game on their new pitch and I think over time we are going to see City really use this pitch to their advantage. It looks a lot wider than Eccleshill’s pitch was and with the use of those players out wide I think they could really challenge the opposition and create some issues for them. There is also the bounce for the ball to take into consideration ow too as that can cause trouble for both teams and we saw a few times today that it is going to be something that City need to get used to too, if they can get used to it and use it to their advantage they could definitely cause issues for the visitors.
This win now leaves Bradford City four points above the drop zone with games in hand on the teams directly above and below them, I think it is safe to say times are changing for City and it is nice to see them picking up the points they deserve.
Let’s see if City can keep the momentum going in their next game when they are away to Stockport County.
Photo: @bcafc_women