Rotherham United 0 - 0 Bradford City
Impressive in a deserved victory over Chesterfield, the Millers were reasonable bets to beat a Bradford struggling for form and goals and hovering just outside the relegation places.
Not unreasonably after such a good display, Ronnie Moore picked the same starting 11 as played against Chesterfield. He made one tactical change, playing Law on the left and Ellison on the right. The idea of that, presumably, was to make sure that there was cover for Mullins against the quick and dangerous Omar Daley. By and large that worked, but, crucially, it limited the Millers' attacking strength on the right.
Bradford ditched the 4-3-3/4-5-1 formation that had been seen them soundly beaten at Northampton and played, instead, a rigidly-stuck-to 4-4-2.
Bradford's formation consisted of three units. Their defence maintained a solid, straight line throughout and focussed solely on winning the ball and clearing it out of their defensive third. They kept three midfielders on patrol in the central third of the pitch, allowing one of the two wide midfielders to support the two forwards. The forwards operated as a typical target man and runner combination.
Without runners from midfield or full-backs offering width, Bradford's attacks were fairly insipid. However, by keeping seven men in purely defensive or defensive midfield positions, they denied the Millers space in which to work openings. No Rotherham player could receive a forward pass without being under immediate pressure. Consequently, the Millers' play consisted of square balls or possession-keeping triangles in defence.
Effectively, the game was a stand-off. The Millers passed the ball across the back line, into midfield and back again, waiting for a Bradford player to break ranks and allow us space behind and between midfield and defence. Bradford, a study of concentration and discipline, simply maintained their shape. Typically, we would blink first, sending a long ball forward to a tightly marked Pope and yielding possession. A few reasonable crosses and some good, but long range shots, from Le Fondre and Law were all we could muster.
Only by getting the full-backs to make overlapping runs on the wings could we stretch the solid banks of Bradford players, but committing defenders forward allowed the possibility of the counter-attack. Daley had the best chance of the first half after the Millers lost possession in the final third and a quick ball down the wing allowed Daley a sight of goal. Warrington blocked well.
The second half was much the same story. What was needed was someone to take possession of the ball, either in central midfield or on the wing and drive at Bradford, committing men to the challenge and so making space for others. Neither Harrison nor Taylor can do that (both are "get it and give it" midfielders) and Law and Ellison need space to build momentum.
The overall effect was that the Millers became essentially two teams. Harrison and Taylor dropped deeper, to pick up the ball from the defence in an area that allowed them space to interplay. Ellison and Law pushed wider and further up the field, in the hope of getting behind the defence.
However, that left the Millers as an attacking foursome, virtually divorced from a defensive six. That meant longer balls out from defence (and so less retained possession in the Bradford half) and the virtual ceding of central midfield to Bradford. With six players operating with 15 yards of our own area, Bradford could hold the ball higher up the pitch and find balls down the side of our defence and through the middle. They were effective from corners and, with confidence building, drew three fantastic saves from Warrington as they picked up on loose balls in scrambled exchanges outside our area and bore down on goal.
With a tiring Pope and a peripheral Le Fondre securely marked, there was no escape valve for the Millers. Bradley came on for Harrison, but, with the momentum against us, could not draw the ball out of our final third. Warne, who replaced Law, offered some aggression and challenge and that helped even the final few minutes and secure the draw.
Overall, a point gained. Bradford showed enough grit and ability to suggest their position in the league is false and that they will trouble other teams over the course of the season. The Millers lacked someone to commit the Bradford team or the real quick passing to slip through them, but you have to credit Bradford's discipline and willingness to work to stop us playing. Arguably, after such a big effort against Chesterfield, they were simply out of gas as the game drew to a close (especially Pope, who was playing his second game in four days after a long lay-off). At least the Millers maintain a two point per game average, which over a season is enough for promotion.
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