Bradford claimed a 2:0 victory over Rochdale in the League Cup Round of 128 on Friday evening. The hosts advanced to the next stage after controlling proceedings for large spells, while Rochdale struggled to find any rhythm against a well-organised defence.
And here's the thing about this game — the turning point came before half-time. W. Swan opened the scoring in 45+1, catching Rochdale on the edge of composure. They had D. Rodney carded just before that, and by then the visitors were already playing with one hand tied behind their back.
Bradford made the difference count. A. Baldwin doubled the lead in 67, finishing what had been a series of probing attacks. Rochdale's goalkeeper managed nine saves, but they only registered two shots on target throughout the match. Five big chances created compared to two tells you everything about where the balance lay.
The statistics confirmed what the eye test showed. Bradford held 52 per cent possession and generated 2.33 expected goals against Rochdale's 0.83. Eleven shots on target for the hosts versus two for the visitors — and Rochdale did not travel to make up the numbers anyway, which showed in their lack of penetration.
Substitutions told a different story on each side. Bradford brought on K. Jackson in 72 and T. Wright in 80, while Rochdale were forced to respond with changes of their own — E. Dieseruvwe came on for the booked Rodney in 63, and B. Bilongo followed in 78.
Both teams came into this match with mixed recent form. Bradford had won four of their last five across all competitions, including that 4:0 display against Gmunden. Rochdale, meanwhile, were unbeaten in five but had drawn four of those — and the 0:2 loss to Manchester United was the outlier.
To be fair, Rochdale competed harder than their record suggests. They won 23 aerial duels to Bradford's 21 and made 47 clearances, but the gap in quality showed in the final third. Bradford passed into the opposition half 294 times compared to Rochdale's 148, and that territorial dominance eventually told.