Bradford City teen Lewis Boney dreaming big as boys down men

He had a big hand in the picturesque opening goal, while he had his hands full all night with the dangerous combination down Avenue’s right of Kareem Hassan-Smith and Oli Norman.

But he showed plenty of promise, with City’s scholars having acquitted themselves well against the men’s teams of Pickering Town, Eccleshill United and Avenue this month.

Boney spoke to the T&A pitchside after the game, and he said: “It’s been a great experience playing against men’s teams.

“They’re a lot more physical and athletic, so we’ve had to do a lot more running, but it’s been good to be exposed to that side of the game.

“This was a big game for us lads tonight and I felt we performed well under pressure.

“Despite what people might have thought before the game, we showed our qualities tonight.

“We’ve made progress in pre-season because we lost to Pickering, drew with Eccleshill, then won here, so that’s good to see.”

Bantams academy coach Matt Maslak explained the benefits of those men against boys fixtures further after the game, saying: “It’s a tough pre-season we’ve given our lads, in terms of their opposition, but we want to assess them and stretch them in different situations.

“The previous couple of games were tough and this one was another level up again.

“We want to keep building that experience and environment for them, where they have to perform under pressure.

“We work hard and we keep demanding more from the lads, but tonight is a benchmark to progress from.”

Boney certainly had his hands full in attack and defence for the whole 90 minutes, but he said: “It’s important to be balanced in the modern game as a full back, being good at going forward and strong at the back.

“With the first goal, we set it up well for Bilal (Hussain) and he put it away nicely.

Bilal Hussain races off to celebrating putting City in front last Tuesday. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

“I trust my defensive abilities, so while their number seven (Norman) is a good player and he got the better of me a few times, I thought overall I won that duel with him tonight.

“I believe in myself, so when it comes to it, I always back myself to perform in a game.”

That self-belief has served Boney well so far on his journey through City’s youth ranks, and he hopes to be here for many years to come.

He said: “I’ve been in the academy here since I was in the Under-13s, and this is my second year in the scholarship side now.

“I’ve loved it, because training is hard, but good, and there’s a great community feel within the club.

“I can’t wait to potentially break into the first team here, it’s what I look forward to and what I’m striving to achieve.

“I’ve got to keep working hard and hopefully that opportunity will come for me.”

But Boney is not getting too far ahead of himself, with academy football very much his focus for now.

Discussing his and the team’s aims for the upcoming season, he said: “We want to do well in the league (the EFL Youth Alliance North East Division), because we’re a strong side and we believe in ourselves.

“We want to go far in the FA Youth Cup too and when it comes to the end of the season, I’d love to secure my first professional contract.”