Bradford City v Aldershot Town Match Preview – Tuesday 20th November 2018
Following the 1-1 draw at The EBB Stadium on 10th November, Aldershot Town travel north again on Tuesday to take on League One outfit Bradford City in their FA Cup 1st Round replay at the Northern Commercials Stadium.
Shots Squad:
Shots skipper Scott Rendell will miss the replay, after coming off injured in the first half of Saturday’s 4-0 defeat at Salford City. Jacob Berkeley-Agyepong made his first start for a while in that match after returing from his own injury lay-off. Karleigh Osborne and James Rowe remain side-lined. Matt McClure missed Saturday’s trip but could come back into contention for Tuesday’s game.
Opposition:
Name: Bradford City FC
Founded: 1903
Nickname: The Bantams
Manager: David Hopkin
Stadium: The Northern Commercials Stadium at Valley Parade
Current League One position: 24th
Recent History:
Bradford City were promoted to League One via the play-offs, following a successful 2012-13 season, in which they also became the first team from the fourth tier of English football to reach the League Cup Final. They currently sit 24th (bottom) of that division, but ended a run of six straight League One defeats with a 1-1 draw at high-flying Peterborough United on Saturday.
The Gaffer:
48-year-old David Hopkin is a former Scottish professional footballer who played midfield for the likes of Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Leeds United as well as making eleven appearances for The Bantams towards the end of his playing career. He was also capped seven times by Scotland at international level. Other than a couple of caretaker spells in charge of Greenock Morton, his only other experience in management prior to taking the reins at Valley Parade was three years in charge of Livingston, in which he guided them to successive promotions in 2017 & 2018. He took over as Bantams boss in September 2018.
Key players:
Former Walsall Goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell and ex-Aberdeen defender Anthony O’Connor are the only ever-presents in the Bantams starting line-up this season. Midfielder Jack Payne (on loan from Huddersfield Town) is the club’s top scorer with four goals to date. O’Connor has three, as does Irish striker Eoin Doyle. Former Histon, Wrexham & Peterborough defender Nat Knight-Percival is also a regular on the team sheet for City and scored the leveller against The Shots at the EBB Stadium.
Referee:
Tuesday’s referee is Graham Salisbury. He has refereed 15 EFL matches this season, mainly at League One & Two level, showing 51 yellow cards and 3 red cards. He has not refereed either Bantams or Shots this season.
Commentary:
There will be live BBC Surrey Sport commentary of this FA Cup 1st Round replay from 7.35pm on Tuesday, available online, on the BBC Sports App and on Tim Durrans’ Tuesday evening ‘Sport in Focus’ programme on BBC Radio Surrey & Sussex (7-10pm).
