Bradford City thrash young Barnsley side to top group

Matty Platt opened the scoring, with strike duo Andy Cook and Tyler Smith netting to put the Bantams 3-0 up at the break.

Further goals in the second half from Lewis Richards and Clarke Oduor gave City a massive lead, before Barry Cotter grabbed a late consolation for the Tykes.

But the visitors’ misery was compounded in second-half stoppage-time, when young centre-half Jack Shepherd was sent off.

The comprehensive victory ensured City a home tie in the last-32 of the competition as winners of the Group F Northern Section.  

The Bantams started the night with a bang, going 1-0 up after only two minutes.

Oduor's corner was cleared back to him and he knocked the ball up the line to Harry Chapman.

The midfielder, on just his second start of the season, delivered a peach of an in-swinging left-footed cross, which Platt headed down and into the net from a few yards out.

Smith almost scored City’s second goal soon after, as Brad Halliday ran on to Cook's lay off and mis-controlled.

The ball broke perfectly for the former Hull striker, who breezed past the defender, before forcing a good save from Ben Killip, who blocked with his outstretched leg.

A robust challenge on Platt by Vimal Yoganathan earned the Barnsley boy a booking, with the young Tykes struggling to get a grip on proceedings.

Their night soon took a further turn for the worse.

Oduor did not give up fighting for the ball 30 yards out, and he prodded it through for Cook in the centre, who drilled a fierce strike from the edge of the box beyond the outstretched right hand of Killip.

Andy Cook (left) was back among the goals for City last night. (Image: Thomas Gadd.)

Barnsley tried to hit back, as Aaron Atkinson tested Colin Doyle from 25 yards out with a decent low strike, but the veteran City stopper reeled it in easily enough.

Defensively, the visitors continued to look shaky, and even after Oduor had a shot blocked by some last-ditch defending, City kept coming, soon making it 3-0.

Ash Taylor clipped a long ball over the top and Smith outmuscled Shepherd as the pair raced towards the Barnsley penalty area.

The Bantams striker just about kept his feet, beat his man for a second time, then rifled a right-footed shot above Killip at the near post and into the net.

Tyler Smith celebrates netting City's third goal of the night. (Image: Thomas Gadd.)

Halliday was lucky not to concede a penalty almost straight after the restart, as he bundled into the back of Sam Cosgrove on the edge of the box.

It was a decent curling effort by Corey O'Keeffe out on the left from the resulting set-piece, which ended up brushing the roof of the net.

Chapman and skipper Richie Smallwood produced a couple of naughty tackles in the middle of the park, with both a little fortunate not to be cautioned, before the luckless Doyle actually was booked, deemed to have time-wasted by referee Will Finnie when making extra certain that he cleared the ball out for a throw-in.

The Bantams came agonisingly to going 4-0 up before the break when Oduor ran on to Cook's fine knockdown, skipped past Killip, then with the hard work done, hit the post from a slightly tight angle.

A quiet start to the second half was livened up 10 minutes in when Smallwood deservedly picked up a yellow card for flattening Barnsley skipper Luca Connell.

From the free-kick, Barnsley won the ball back from the initial Bantams clearance, with Connell clipping a cross into Cosgrove, whose header was well plucked out of the top corner by Doyle.

Cook was a bit unlucky not to get a penalty after taking two hands in his back as he jumped for a ball in the box.

The referee waved the appeals away, Oduor laid the loose ball off to Smith, but the striker was just offside and drilled his shot straight at Killip anyway.

Barnsley’s Owen Dodgson was the next man in the book after bringing down the flying Halliday and after that little niggly period, City soon started to show their class again.

Oduor showed wonderful feet, keeping control of the ball in the middle despite having all the space of inside a telephone booth.

He slipped Cook in on goal, but the big striker's attempted flick over Killip saw the keeper save with his head. That mattered little, as Richards slammed in the rebound from the edge of the box.

Three minutes later, the Bantams went 5-0 up. Halliday got in behind the weary Barnsley defence down the right and played the ball back to the onrushing Oduor, cutting the keeper out of the game.

That gave the City No.12 an easy sidefooted finish into the roof of the net, garnishing his fine individual performance with the goal it deserved.

Vadaine Oliver then made a welcome return after summer knee surgery, coming on for his first appearance of the season with just under 20 minutes to go.

Despite them scoring five times, perhaps the most satisfying aspect of their night was seeing Vadaine Oliver return to action. (Image: Thomas Gadd.)

But even though the big striker would have loved to score on his comeback, it was the visitors who grabbed the final goal of the night, just reward for the over 600 fans they had brought to Valley Parade for the game.

Aaron Atkinson, probably the best Barnsley player on a difficult night for them, took advantage of Ciaran Kelly giving away possession and knocked the ball back to substitute Cotter, who drilled a superb strike across Doyle and in from the edge of the box.

But the veteran City keeper refused to be beaten for a second time, making a wonderful diving save to keep out Joe Ackroyd from close range after O’Keeffe’s low ball across from the right.

The Bantams came close to having the last say themselves.

Barnsley had a clearance charged down and Smith did well to control the ball, before laying it back to Adam Wilson.

The young winger took it into his stride, before drilling a left-footed shot centimetres past the post.

Barnsley’s difficult night was compounded when young centre-half Shepherd was sent off at the death for denying a goalscoring opportunity, dragging Smith back as he raced on to Oliver’s flick on.

Halliday almost grabbed a rare goal from the free kick, but his fierce drive was beaten away by Killip, who was relieved not to have pick the ball out of the net for a sixth time.

Graham Alexander’s first win coming in fine fashion then, but he knows the real test comes when his side return to League Two action against play-off chasing Accrington Stanley this Saturday.