Bradford 2 Sunderland 0: Story of the night after Emmanuel Osadebe goal and Jamie Walker penalty
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Alex Neil made 11 changes to his side following Sunderland’s 2-0 win over Dundee United, with the head coach looking to give every member of his senior squad sufficient game time ahead of the new Championship campaign.
After a goalless first half, Emmanuel Osadebe put the hosts ahead after the interval.
The hosts then doubled their lead when Lynden Gooch brought down Jamie Walker and the attacking midfielder converted from the penalty spot.
Here’s how the match played out:
RECAP: Bradford City 2 (Osadebe, 51) (Walker, 75, pen) Sunderland 0
Key Events
- Sunderland XI to face Bradford: Carney, Gooch, Batth, Alese, Taylor (Sonha, 60), Matete, Winchester, O’Nien, Embleton, Clarke, Diamond
- Subs: Patterson, Richardson, Wright, Hume, Cirkin, Ballard, Evans, Neil, Sonha, Dajaku, Roberts, Pritchard, Stewart
- Bradford XI: Lewis, Halliday, Foulds, Crichlow, Platt, Smallwood, Osadebe, East, Cook, Walker, Angol
- Subs: Richardson, Threlkeld, Cousin-Dawson, Staunton, Songo’o, Oliver, Scales, Harratt, Young, Wood, Wadsworth, Potion, Wilson
What to make of that side
So it’s 11 changes from the side which started at Dundee on Saturday.
As expected, the likes of Lynden Gooch, Danny Batth, Luke O’Nien, Carl Winchester and Jay Matete come back into the side.
It looks O’Nien will be playing as an attacking midfielder, as he did against Roma, ahead of Winchester and Matete in the engine room.
Gooch looks set to start at right-back again, with Ellis Taylor starting at left-back, as he did for the first team in a Carabao Cup game at Port Vale last season.
It will be a big opportunity for the 19-year-old, as it will be for goalkeeper Jacob Carney, 21, who will start between the sticks.
It will also be interesting to see if it’s Jack Clarke or Jack Diamond leading the line.
State of play on the transfer front
Sunderland bolstered their defensive options last week following the arrival of Aji Alese from West Ham – yet Black Cats boss Alex Neil still wants to strengthen in several positions ahead of the new Championship campaign.
Neil said after the Dundee United game that he wants at least two more striker options to provide more variety and competition for Ross Stewart.
Nathan Broadhead remains on the club’s radar after impressing on loan at the Stadium of Light last season, while the forward missed Everton’s pre-season friendly against Arsenal on Saturday.
Tottenham’s Troy Parrott is another versatile forward on the Black Cats’ radar, yet multiple Championship clubs have expressed an interest in signing the 20-year-old on a season-long loan deal.
Read more HERE
Tonight’s opponents
Bradford finished 14th in League Two last season, after Mark Hughes was appointed The Bantams’ boss in February.
The side have played three matches in pre-season so far, beating non-league sides Bradford PA and York City while losing 2-0 against Derby.
Team news
We’ll start with the Sunderland team news.
Neil named a strong starting XI against Dundee United on Saturday but says that isn’t a reflection of the team that could start against Coventry for their Championship opener in less than two weeks time.
“That team that I picked does not have any bearing on what the first team of the season will be,” said Neil after the win at Tannadice Park.
“What it was, was five lads, six including Patto (Anthony Patterson) played 90 minutes in the last game and that’s now nine lads that have played 90 minutes in this game.
“The rest of the lads will certainly play 90 minutes on Tuesday so that will be everybody ticked off 90 minutes and then we’re going to have three games left between now and the start of the season which is good. We can top each of them up in terms of what they need for minutes.”
