Bradford City 3–2 AFC Wimbledon
Summer’s over, reality bites.
It rained, it poured, and it felt like the honeymoon was over. We’ve had bright floodlights, crisp wins, and August optimism. At Valley Parade, the sun cream was gone, the waterproofs were out, and reality knocked twice before sweeping in a late winner. Twice ahead, twice pegged back, and finally undone. Summer has officially ended.
The team:
1 Nathan Bishop (GK)
2 Nathan Asiimwe
11 Marcus Browne
3 Steve Seddon
12 Alister Smith
21 Myles Hippolyte
4 Jake Reeves ©
31 Joe Lewis
14 Matty Stevens
6 Ryan Johnson
33 Isaac Ogundere
Also involved: Harbottle, Bugiel, Hackford, Sasu, Augcock.
Notable absences: Delano McCoy-Splatt, last seen watching War Horse at Wimbledon Theatre with Sam Hutchinson. They gave it a 5 star review.
Wider context: Johnson’s inclusion was timely, coming just a day after his first Northern Ireland call-up official confirmation here. A huge personal moment, even if his defence looked more League Two than international at times yesterday.
The match:
Bradford started fast, and had the first crack inside three minutes. Bishop, gloves freshly blessed by Bayzo’s incense sticks, tipped Pointon’s drive aside, and then Wimbledon landed first. Stevens nodded into Browne’s path, and the winger lashed low into the corner before cupping his ears at the Kop. Nearly two in two minutes followed, Hippolyte denied by Sam Walker. Wright levelled when Bishop flapped at a floated cross. The incense already expired, we will be having words with Bayes about buying from Temu.
The second half saw Stevens volley us back in front, a finish so precise it used the post as a compass. Pointon equalised after Bishop’s parry fell his way, before Swan sealed it when a poor Bishop kick invited trouble. A storm overhead, chaos beneath, and the points stayed in West Yorkshire.
Defence and Goalkeeper
For all the attacking bright spots, the back line looked unusually porous. Joe Lewis’s return was steady enough, but organisation went missing at key moments. Johnson battled but couldn’t stamp authority, and Bishop had his worst afternoon for us.
Three goals, three Bishop fingerprints: flapping at the first, spilling the second, mis-kicking for the third. He also made three excellent saves, but that’s the cruel irony. Goalkeepers live in extremes, saint or sinner, rarely the in-between.
If August was sunshine, September looks like heavy weather. Twice scoring away and losing is not sustainable. You can’t keep asking Stevens and Browne to outgun defensive chaos.
What the fans are saying:
“Excellent going forward, League Two at the back.”
“Bishop is both Lev Yashin and Massimo Taibi in one game.”
“I can’t believe we lost to Will Swan. That’s not a footballer, that’s a National Trust property.”
Womble of the Week: Marcus Browne
Took his goal with venom, carried the ball with intent, and gave Bradford’s defence a miserable afternoon. Even his misses looked dangerous. If Wimbledon are going to dig in for the months ahead, Browne is the one dragging us forward.
Closing thoughts:
August gave us wins, floodlights, and optimism. September gives us fixtures, rain, and reality. The team is improving, but the learning curve is steep. Johnson’s call-up proves our players are being noticed. Now the squad has to show it can turn decent performances into points. Consistently.
WombleWorld
Somewhere in Yorkshire, Dave Reddington was spotted teaching a terrier how to press in a 4-2-3-1.