Bradford sporting highlights of 2023 include City and Bulls

Feel free to shout at us for picking the wrong games/moments and let us know whether there’s any you would add in there.

Without further ado, here we go, in no particular order:

BRADFORD CITY 1 CARLISLE UNITED 0

The temptation would be to pick that thrilling last-gasp win at Northampton in late April that all-but-secured City’s spot in the top seven, but the “Nightmare of Brunton Park” naturally obscures the euphoria of the League Two play-off semi-final first leg against the Cumbrians a week earlier.

The game marked the Bantams’ first in an end of season shootout for six years, and the excitement was that great that this reporter got locked in at Odsal, as Bulls fans and staff alike flocked to Valley Parade following their side’s win over Swinton that afternoon.

Luckily, after finishing my work in BD6 at 8:30pm and finding no-one around, I accidentally set off a fire alarm, clambered under and over a few fences, before a few phone calls later, a Bulls staffer kindly came to my rescue.

But I thought the whole episode was hilarious and attach absolutely no blame to anyone wanting to be at City’s biggest game in years.

It was not a thrilling 90 minutes, but that hardly mattered, as Jamie Walker swept in the only goal to send 20,575 Bantams home delighted.

Jamie Walker scores the Bantams' biggest goal for six years in the League Two play-off semi-final first leg against Carlisle at Valley Parade, only for it to all go wrong in Cumbria the following weekend. (Image: Thomas Gadd.)

Just a shame about that second leg eh?

BRADFORD BULLS 22 YORK 8

After the misery of a woeful ninth-placed finish in 2022, Bulls returned to form in 2023, only for their play-off hopes to be put in jeopardy by late-season home defeats to Featherstone and York.

But that squad was made of stern stuff and superb narrow wins in London and Sheffield wrapped up third spot.

That meant a quick revenge date against the Knights at Odsal, where a battered and bruised away side drained their last reserves of energy to take an 8-0 lead early on.

But as York tired, Bulls soared, and they edged 12-8 in front by the break after converted tries for Fenton Rogers and Keven Appo.

The Bulls players exploded with joy when Keven Appo gave them the lead against York in the Championship play-off eliminator, and their night only got better from there. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

Eribe Doro, Jordan Lilley and Tom Holmes combined for a spine-tinglingly good third try in the second half, which for my money, was the single most thrilling moment I’ve ever experienced in five years of covering the Bulls.

Two late penalties from Lilley sealed Bradford’s victory, but their Super League dreams died (for now) six days later with a battling defeat at Championship heavyweights Toulouse.

But anyone who was at Odsal that night on October 1 will surely never forget it…

GHAZ, FIRST AND AKBAR ON THE BIGGEST OF STAGES

There were plenty of nearly moments for our Bradford professional boxers this year, such as Hamed Ghaz and Jimmy First both losing out in English title fights.

It was Darren Tetley's turn in 2022, as he faced Ekow Essuman at Wembley, on the Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte undercard, for the British, European and Commonwealth Welterweight titles.

The popular Holme Wood fighter has struggled since, culminating in a loss to unbeaten Elliot Whale at the start of the month, but he has been taking those big bouts still, and the proud 30-year-old will no doubt feel he has a least one more marquee win in him.

But it was some of his fellow Bradford natives who took the limelight in 2023.

Ghaz suffered an agonisingly narrow points defeat to Reece Mould in February, as the pair battled it out for the vacant national lightweight title, in a bout the Bradfordian felt he had won.

It was his first defeat in 19 professional fights, but in his prime at 27, few would back against him from coming back stronger.

Conversely, First did not make his professional debut until his mid-thirties, but anyone taking the 42-year-old lightly will soon regret it.

He gained national attention with a stunning televised win over Cori Gibbs in December 2022, before losing on points to unbeaten Josh Padley and a vengeful Gibbs in high-profile bouts earlier this year.

But First's biggest stage of all came when he took on good friend and admirer Lewis Sylvester for that same English lightweight title that Ghaz and Mould had fought for eight months earlier.

Sylvester may have been full of respect for First, but he is also a high-quality young fighter for whom a great career lies ahead.

He obliterated First with an emphatic first-round knockout win, but thankfully that has not sent the veteran into retirement, as he prepares now for a home bout against journeyman Carl Sampson at the Cedar Court Hotel next February.

Jimmy First's win over Cori Gibbs last December set up a remarkable, if ultimately unsuccessful, 2023 for the Bradford boxing veteran. (Image: Richard Crease Photography.)

On an amateur level, Bradford’s Harris Akbar did not quite scale the heights of his 2022 European gold in Armenia, but he was unlucky to miss out on his first attempt at qualification for the 2024 Olympics in the summer, with a high-profile defeat in Krakow.

Not to panic, as the light-middleweight still has two more chances to secure his spot at next year’s games in Paris this coming spring.

Akbar warmed up nicely for those two qualification events with bronze at the World Boxing Cup in November over in Cologne, and it would be a surprise if he didn’t book his spot in France in summer.

WHEATLEY PULLS OFF A THREE-PEAT

In the last 70 years of the Bradford Open Championship, the district’s most prestigious amateur tournament, only Rodney Foster, Phil Wood and Richard Wheatley have won three in a row.

Foster’s achievement came in the early 60s, Wood’s in the mid-90s and Wheatley’s in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

In such a talented modern-day field, with multiple different winners of the Bradford Union’s major tournaments, few would have imagined Wheatley’s feat to be possible.

But the Bradford Golf Club member, and pilot, achieved that holy grail in Skipton back in July, to follow up his previous triumphs at Northcliffe and Bingley St Ives.

Richard Wheatley (right) poses with his 2023 Bradford Open trophy alongside this year's Union president David Peat. (Image: UGC.)

He had to dig deep to pull of his three-peat though, winning the 2023 edition via a play-off against the in-form Jack Lampkin, who had won the Bradford Amateur Strokeplay Championship a month prior.

The 43-year-old also won the prestigious Pannal Rose Bowl back in June and just seems to be getting better with age.

WEST BOWLING AND BRADFORD DUDLEY HILL WIN SILVERWARE

Bowling have felt like a National Conference League Premier Division in-waiting for a while now, and having performed admirably in the Challenge Cup in recent years, they deserve their chance at that highest level of the amateur game.

Rugby league can be an unforgiving sport, but after promotion near-miss in 2022, Bowling made no mistake second time around and romped to the NCL Division One title with weeks to spare.

Dean Muir did such a good job in his one season in charge that he has been handed the hotseat at League 1 Hunslet, while he has taken Bowling’s star half-back Harry Williams with him for a deserved shot in the elite game.

West Bowling were by far and away the best side in their division, with this picture taken during their thumping 48-4 win over eventual play-off finalists Oulton Raiders in April. (Image: John Ashton.)

The club’s great rivals, Bradford Dudley Hill, certainly know the meaning of ‘unforgiving’, with a gruelling few years in the sport seeing them make the difficult decision to drop out of the NCL and into the lesser Yorkshire Men’s League for 2023.

But there was no sulking from players or staff, and after a fine season-long battle with neighbours Wibsey Warriors, they eventually won Division Two.

Not only that, but they beat Greetland All Rounders at Featherstone Rovers’ Post Office Road in July to win the Yorkshire Men’s League Trophy final too.

A season that had threatened to be difficult ended up with a truly memorable double.

CAMPION HAVE A SPRING TO REMEMBER

Historically, amateur football clubs do not get much unluckier than Campion.

The Bradford side’s attempts to gain promotion to the ninth tier of English football until the 2022-23 season had been akin to a Shakespearian tragedy.

Only one side went up from Division One of the Northern Counties East League in 2018-19, and Campion were top heading into the final day, only to be overtaken by Grimsby Borough, after a 4-2 away defeat to their Lincolnshire title rivals.

They were well placed to go up in 2019-20 and 2020-21, only for both seasons to be curtailed by Covid, with them missing out narrowly on promotion thanks to their not quite sufficient points-per-game ratio over those two campaigns.

They were bizarrely moved sideways into the North West Counties Football League First Division North for 2021-22, and with players leaving, unable to commit to the extra travel, and an arguably harder level of competition, they almost suffered a catastrophic relegation.

Thankfully, they not only survived, but also quickly earned a welcome move back into Division One of the NCEL, where they immediately regained a stronger squad.

They were not about to pass up their opportunity at the fifth attempt after those four aforementioned fiascos, overcoming a late-season wobble to storm to that long-awaited 10th-tier title.

Campion celebrate winning that long-awaited title. (Image: Alex Daniel.)

Even more incredibly, Campion stunned the district by overcoming far bigger names to scoop their first ever West Riding County Cup in April, with a sensational 2-1 comeback win over holders Liversedge in the final wrapping up a springtime double.