Match Report 2002-2003

Saturday 25 January, 2003, Division One

Grimsby Town away

City earn a breather

Who knows what Claus Jorgensen has to do to earn a new deal at Valley Parade. The Dane arrowed an unstoppable 25 yarder in injury time to give City the win over relegation rivals at the end of another impressive display. Young, determined and with the character to put in displays despite the fact that the City manager Nicky Law describes him as "Not my sort of player."

Jorgensen was shunted out to the left wing as the midfield lacking Lewis Emanuel was shifted over. It says much about Grimsby's abilities, or lack of them, that the lack of defensive capabilities of Michael Standing in the inside of the midfielder were rarely exposed. Jamie Lawrence, playing his last game for the Bantams if rumours of a move to Walsall are to be believed, did enough around Standing to protect the middle for City and gave the Bantams a base to build.

That base never looked under threat. The path of the game was a Bantam comeback from a goal down following Nicky Law target Michael Boulding's goal on the quarter of an hour but in truth City had had more of the game before that point. The sending off of Steve Livingstone did City a favour, "Livo" was a boxer before a footballer and for a minute before half time he forgot his change of professional as he laid out Robert Molenaar, but it did not seem outrageous to suggest that even with eleven men the Bantams would have turned this one around.

Andy Gray equalised after 57 minutes after impressive work by Ashley Ward's who's well-weighted pass beat the home offside trap leaving Gray in to score. Ward himself hit the bar not long after and by that time a single point would have been acceptable but not as much as City deserved.

Which is not to say that Grimsby were hapless. Terry Cooke and Michael Boulding combined a number of times and one felt that the home side had a hope if they could get a momentum going but it was credit to City that they never did. Another Law target, centreback Simon Ford, looked unimpressive showing the Mariners problems. A soft centre. Deep into injury time no one could accuse Simon Francis of a soft centre. He lunged in once to get booked and then again with ten seconds on the clock to record a red card before his eightieth birthday. Very Wayne Rooney.

Not that any centre could have done anything about the top right hand corner shot of Claus Jorgensen two minutes into injury time just before that sending off. It was an unstoppable effort and one that goes along way to making sure that City will avoid the dog fight before it gets dirty.

There is a plan at City to replace the team that limped out of the Premiership. People like Simon Francis, Michael Standing and Andy Gray are key parts of that. I for be cannot believe that Claus Jorgensen is not a part of that.

Man of the Match

Claus Jorgensen

Magic.

Bradford City Team