A truly dire home display to rival the Rotherham match two weeks previous saw Barnsley undeservedly stay in the hat for the Third Round Draw.
The Reds were second best in nearly every department and if Dean Windass had brought his scoring boots Bradford would have been out of sight by half-time.
Windass skied a host of chances in a one-sided opening period, coming closest when his header from a Ben Muirhead corner clipped Scott Flinders post.
Flinders incidentally was appalling and seems to have lost the authority and confidence gained from a run in the side last season.
His mix up with Kay should have seen Windass fire Bradford into the lead but from 6 yards he blazed over.
Although expected to stick with an unchanged side from the one that so convincingly swept aside Swindon the previous weekend Reds boss Andy Ritchie plumped for 3 changes albeit circumstances dictated them. Stephen McPhail, Nick Colgan and Paul Reid all picked up niggles in training during the week so all were rested. Flinders naturally deputised for Colgan whilst Dale Tonge, who was impressive and Antony Kay slotted in.
The side though desperately lacked the skills of McPhail and Brian Howard who should be back for the League game with Tranmere on Tuesday.
Hayes and Richards had to constantly deal with long hopeful punts which were meat and drink for the experienced David Weatherall and Richard Edghill at the back.
At the other end Bobby Hassell and Neil Austin struggled to contend with the pace of former Owl Owen Morrison and the extremely lively Ben Muirhead.
In fact before the shock goal which came 3 minutes before half-time Barnsley carved out only ONE decent chance. A good strike from Tonge been tipped around the post by giant Bantams keeper Donovan Ricketts.
The big worry throughout the season has been the fact that a host of chances have been created but not taken. The Reds have currently had the most shots on target in the league yet scored the least out of the top six.
The even bigger worry in these last two HOME games is the fact that the opportunities have started drying up.
But to keep them in the cup, The Reds ironically bagged the one they got after 42 minutes.
Jacob Burns swung over a cross which Hassell nodded across goal and Hayes diverted in. The PA Announcer credited the goal to Hassell but it was obvious Hayes had put it in.
The second half was only marginally better for the Red persuasion.
Unfortunately Barnsley insisted on playing the ball down the right to Shuker rather than give it to Devaney who whenever on the ball ran rings around the Bradford defence.
This was never more typified when he shrugged off two challenges and raced towards the defence before curling a beauty inches past the post.
After looking running into blind alleys on the left when he first came Devaney now looks our best attacking outlet.
Bradford continued to press and fired a warning after 70 minutes.
Windass turned in Muirhead’s cross before celebrations were cut short at the sight of the linesman’s raised flag.
The warning was not heeded though and 8 minutes before the end Bradford earned the replay which they at least deserved.
Edghill was up from the back and fired in a shot that flew straight through Flinders who totally flapped at the ball as it crept past him.
Looking at the positives The Reds are at least still in the hat for the Third Round draw and if the winner of this tie was to say pull Chelsea then maybe the team might raise their game for the replay.
The inconsistency continues to blight us though. Lets hope McPhail and Howard can keep the play-off charge going on Tuesday.
Player Ratings:
Scott Flinders: A disastrous return to the first team. Tangled with Kay early on and allowed Edghill’s shot squirm straight through him to ensure a replay. 4
Bobby Hassell: Skipper for the day but given a torrid time by Morrison. Booked. 5
Antony Kay: Looked shaky early on but seem to grow in confidence as the game went on. 6
Matt Carbon: Strong display again, won almost everything in the air. 8
Neil Austin: Poor game from Aussie today. Muirhead left him with the proverbial “twisted blood” . Booked.5
Chris Shuker: Tried his best and did well second half. Just couldn’t put in the killer cross though. 6
Jacob Burns: Another average display from Burnsy unfortunately although he was prepared to stick his foot in. 6
Dale Tonge: Surprised to see him in central midfield but it did extremely well and seemed to be the only player wanting to play passing football. Subbed. 7
Martin Devaney: Was blatantly obvious he was the best attacking outlet and whenever on the ball he gave the Bradford defence a torrid time but for some strange reason was left isolated for long spells by his team-mates. 7
Marc Richards: Got up for a lot of headers although the amount of times he was caught offside was frustrating. 6
Paul Hayes: In the right place at the right time to score the goal. Did little else though. Subbed. 5
Substitutes:
Nathan Jarman ( for Hayes 76) Looked lively but just didn’t have long enough to make a real impact. Would have like him to have started today. Booked. 6
Nicky Wroe ( for Tonge 85) Only a cameo appearance for the fit again Wroe. Just doesn’t look like anything more than a bit-part player. 5
Man of The Match: Matt Carbon, just ahead of Dale Tonge.
FA Cup Second Round Results Saturday 3rd December 2005
Aldershot 0-1 Scunthorpe
Barnsley 1-1 Bradford
Cheltenham 1-1 Oxford
Chester 3-0 Nottingham Forest
Hartlepool 1-2 Tamworth
Hereford 0-2 Stockport
Nuneaton 2-2 Histon
Oldham 1-1 Brentford
Rushden & Diamonds 0-1 Leyton Orient
Shrewsbury 1-2 Colchester
Southend 1-2 MK Dons
Stevenage 2-2 Northampton
Torquay 2-1 Notts County
Walsall 2-0 Yeovil
Woking 0-0 Northwich
Next Up:
At Oakwell: Barnsley v Tranmere Rovers Coca Cola League One Tuesday 6th December 2005 Kick-Off 7:45pm ( Note: This is a Category B Match)
Barnsley v Scunthorpe United Saturday 10th December 2005 Kick Off 3pm ( Note: This is a Category A Match)
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