Jamie Walker’s second half strike earns Bradford City an important win against Stevenage

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Bradford City got a much-needed league win under their belts after narrowly beating Stevenage 1-0.

Jamie Walker’s first goal for the Bantams on 55 minutes proved to be enough for his side to take the three points back to West Yorkshire.

It proved to be a tight affair between the two sides but Bradford dug deep and grinded out the victory which leaves them seven points away from the play-off places

It was at times a tough night for Derek Adams’ men. Early on. the hosts missed a great chance as Ed Upson nodded the ball across the box and found Michael Bostwick but he could not direct his header on target and watched the ball fly past the post. 

The game then turned scrappy with both sides giving the ball away and both cancelling each other out. 

The Bantams tried to shift the momentum as skipper Paudie O’Connor shot on the turn, however, it was easily caught by goalkeeper Christy Pym. 

Bradford City debutant Nathan Delfouneso saw his first sight at goal as he met Liam Ridehalgh’s cross but cleared the bar with his header.

The away side kept probing and certainly grew stronger as the half went on with two chances in quick succession. Firstly, Hearts loanee Walker met Levi Sutton’s low cross but a last-ditch tackle by a Stevenage defender denied him. 

From the resulting corner, Yann Songo’o rose highest with his header curling wide of the left-hand post.

The best chance of the half did fall to Walker. Just before the break, he had two bites of the cherry from point-blank range with his first effort saved by Pym and his second blocked by the defender.

Stevenage responded early after the interval to a strong half from the Bantams as Bostwick headed the ball again from a corner. It looked destined for the goal but a brilliant save from Alex Bass denied him. 

After weathering an early storm, the visitors did take the lead, Walker made up for missing from point-blank in the first half by drilling the ball on the turn from Andy Cook’s flick-on into the left-hand corner.

Derek Adams’ men did not stop there as Walker again latched onto Luke Hendrie’s half-cleared cross. He tried to curl it into the far corner but curled it just past the post. 

However, Boro did begin their purge on the Bradford goal. A shot fired towards the far corner by Bruno Andrade looked destined to head in but Bass again was equal to it, and before anyone could get to the rebound, the Bantams cleared their lines.

Bass kept the lead in-tact again as Arthur Read, who helped Stevenage to a 2-2 against Crawley on Saturday, cut inside in the box and drove the ball towards the goal. The Bradford goalkeeper dived to his left and stretched his arms to push the ball away and earn his side a much-needed victory. 

A well-earned win for the Bantams slightly relieves the pressure building on Derek Adams and brightens a torrid time for the club.

That is now two wins, two defeats and a draw in the last five games for Adams’ side who sit 11th in League Two.

The hosts Stevenage however did not have any last-minute heroics as shown on Saturday and sit 17th in the league. 

Attention now turns to Saturday where Bradford host Exeter at Valley Parade and will look to build on an important victory.

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