Heartbreak for Bantams

OUT: Jon Stead puts his head in his hands after Bradford City’s 3-0 defeat to Reading on Monday

City miss out on dream Wembley trip

With just 90 minutes of football separating Bradford City from a dream place in the FA Cup semi-finals. Monday night’s clash with Reading was always going to be a big one.

Unfortunately, for the hundreds of travelling Bantams fans, and the thousands watching across the country, the fairytale ending was not to be as the West Yorkshire outfit went down by three goals to nil.

Early strikes from Hal Robson-Kanu and Garath McCleary sent the Royals into a ten-minute two goal lead before Jamie Mackie rounded off the scoring moments after city were reduced to ten men.

Filipe Morais was dismissed for a high challenge on Chelsea loanee, Nathaniel Chalobah, who set up Mackie to all but finish off Phil Parkinson’s men.

Bradford were aiming to reach the final four of the competition for the first time in over one-hundred years yet were ultimately beaten by the better side on the night.

Speaking after the loss, Parkisnon said: “We have to be immensely proud of what we have achieved in this competition.

“Obviously tonight (Monday) is tough to take, we wanted to progress and we had a great support cheering us on, but we have to quickly move on.

“Reflecting on what we have accomplished, we have so many great memories from this season's FA Cup.

“We can take that with us for the rest of the season and beyond. We have eleven games to go in the league and we must look to that now.

“No-one in the league, apart from Sheffield United earlier in the season, has had to deal with the amount of high profile games we've had recently.

“The lads have done terrifically well with it all, however, and we're going to have a good go at things now we have a clear run in the league.”

Reading will now face-off against Arsenal at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 18th April.

Brilliant Bantams!

QUALIFIED: Bradford City are the first team to ever defeat a Jose Mourinho side from two goals down as they advanced in the FA Cup

Historic cup triumph send City through to fifth round

After a weekend of unforgettable football, which saw the Premier League’s ‘big hitters’ fall in every direction, it was Bradford City who pulled off one of the greatest cup upsets of all time, defeating Chelsea 4-2at Stamford Bridge.
Goals from Jon Stead, former Chelsea player Filipe Morais, Andy Halliday and Mark Yeates, secured the famous win for the Bantams who saw their name placed in the hat for the fifth round draw.

Being touted as huge underdogs leading into the game, City held on for 21 minutes before Gary Cahill opened the scoring for the hosts with a finish at the near post.

The lead was soon doubled after a fine passing move, saw Mohammed Salah link up with Ramires to set up the Brazilian for a cool finish.

MAGIC: City boss, Phil Parkinson, said the game will live long in the memory of fans across the country

With City’s 6,000 travelling supporters still loud in voice, Stead gave the visitors a lifeline in first half stoppage time when he rifled in an effort from 18 yards to beat Petr Cech at his front post.

With only one goal separating the sides, Bradford pressed in the second half and levelled with 15 minutes to play as Morais tapped in to score against his former employers.

Having claimed victories over Premier League opponents, such as Arsenal and Aston Villa, in a remarkable League Cup run two years ago, a sense of optimism was sweeping around Stamford Bridge as the game edged to a finish.

Step forward Halliday to put the huge outsiders ahead with a fine placed effort and in turn, send the jubilant away supporters into pandemonium.

As if this wasn’t enough, a stoppage time goal to seal the game arrived from the boot of Yeates after great play from Stead, to secure a historic victory and classic FA Cup triumph.

It is the first time in Jose Mourinho’s managerial history that he has thrown away a two goal lead to lose a match against any opponent.

After the game, he shook the hand of every Bradford player in their dressing room and commenting on his team’s performeance said he was ‘ashamed’ and ‘embarrased’ about their cup exit.

He added: “It's a disgrace for a big team to lose to a small team from a lower league. Me and the players must feel ashamed...Frustration is not the right word, embarrassed would be more appropriate.”

Phil Parkinson

Meanwhile, an ecstatic Bantams Boss Phil Parkinson, told BBC Radio 5 live: “The lads are absolutely bouncing in that dressing room and what they've done today will be remembered for a very long time - not just in Bradford but all around the country.

“Playing the league leaders and one of the best teams in Europe and scoring four goals... That's going to take some beating.”

Elsewhere in the cup competition, a shock was seen at the Etihad Stadium where Premier League champions, Manchester City, were eliminated by Championship side Middlesbrough.

A 2-0 scoreline secured the visitors entry into the fifth round and knocked one of the favourites out.

Meanwhile, other Premier League teams eliminated include: Southampton, Tottenham and Swansea.

Inspiring scholar preaches ‘love’ before ‘religion’

Around one-thousand people, consisting of both men and women, from all schools of thought, embarked on Bradford City’s Valley Parade Stadium earlier this week to listen to the inspirational words of world-renowned Islamic scholar, Maulana Tariq Jameel.

Returning to the city following a moving sermon and speech at Orissa Dining back in August, the scholar once again enlightened audiences with his words of love, tolerance and religion on Wednesday 3rd December.

The invite-only event welcomed some of the most influential businessmen and women, alongside numerous professionals, who had the chance to listen to the scholar’s powerful speeches on some of the world’s most pressing issues.

Organised by Shakeel Shah, director of Shaks Specialist Cars Ltd and also cousin of Maulana Tariq Jameel, along with his associates, the night was deemed a huge success with an awe-inspiring atmosphere.

Speaking after the night, Mr Shah said: “To have Maulana Tariq Jameel return to Bradford is something we were really excited about.

“The turnout on the night was fantastic with around one-thousand people coming to hear the speech from all over the UK and some guests had arrived from Europe. Everyone was taken aback by the powerful messages.

“It brought tears to many people’s eyes as the scholar spoke of today’s world and the challenges people have to face elsewhere compared to their lifestyles.

“He spoke of the importance of children and parents respecting each other equally.”

Mr Shah and his friends, who made this event happen and made it a success, thanked everybody for their attendance and hoped they understood the loved words from Maulana Tariq Jameel.

The famous scholar’s speech was often so moving that the scholar himself was forced to speak through tears as the realisation of his message was felt by all in the room.

This latest visit was orchestrated after the Maulana had requested a return to Bradford following the last sermon earlier in the year.

Saying he was once again overwhelmed with the love he received from the guests who turned-out on the night, Maulana Tariq Jameel added that it was reassuring to see so many affluent professionals in attendance, from all schools of thought.

Nadim Hanif, Managing Director of the Asian Express Newspaper, was present at the latest event and having previously seen Maulana Tariq Jameel speak in Bradford, he said it was another moving evening.

“It was an inspiring speech and one which was presented in a way I have never really experienced before,” he said.

“Through my own experiences, I have witnessed some Maulana’s figuratively force religion down your throat, yet Maulana Tariq Jameel was much more soothing in his words about the beloved Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and the wider world.

“His message about the importance of ‘love’ was very moving and something which was well received by the audience.”

Remember

On the 11th May 1985, 54 Bradford City supporters, and two Lincoln City fans, lost their lives after a fire ravaged through Valley Parade.

Since that date, the victims of the blaze have never been forgotten with respects paid every year to mark the anniversary of the disaster.

This weekend, the 29th Valley Parade Memorial Tournament will be held at Bradford Council’s Marley Activities and Coaching Centre between the dates of 19th and 20th April.

Youngsters play in memory of those who lost their lives in Bradford fire

The Lord Mayor of Bradford, Councillor Khadim Hussain, will be at the tournament to watch teams from the Bradford district, Lincoln and across Europe, compete for trophies.

Among the teams competing will be under 12's and under 14's teams from Bradford City, Bingley, Sandy Lane, BPA, Campion, Queensbury, BD3 United and Silsden, whilst two centre of excellence teams from Lincoln, and a team from the German city of Hamm, which is twinned with Bradford, will also compete.

The memorial tournament was the brainchild of former Bradford Council chief recreation officer Howell Williams, and has been held every year since 1986.

Lifelong Bradford City fan and Bradford Council employee Carl Dalton, who was in the main stand on the day, took over organising the event in 2000 and has been instrumental in the 'friendship through football' event growing each year.

Carl, who is also the manager of Bradford Council’s Community Play and Activities Development Unit, said: “The tournament helps preserve the memory of those who died, provides us with an opportunity to reflect on what happened that day, and also lets us celebrate our future footballers.

“While the tournament was born out of a tragedy that will always be remembered, it also gives us chance to look forward and see young footballers enjoying the tournament. It shows how sport can unite people.”

Since 1986 over 12,000 participants have taken part in the tournament which is organised by Bradford Council's Sport and Leisure Service and sponsored by the Prison Officers' Association.

City striker scores a hit with pupils

Pupils from Lady Royd Primary were thrilled to welcome Bradford City striker James Hanson to the school last week to speak about his move from co-op shelf stacker, to Wembley goal hero.

The towering centre forward spoke to pupils about the motivation and determination needed to succeed in life and about his own accomplishments in football.

SPEAKER: Lady Royd Year 5 pupils, Sahar Qureshi and
Emily Johnson, welcomed Bradford City forward,
James Hanson, to the
school last week

After a short montage of the club’s finest goal scoring moments, and a sing-along to the Bantam supporter’s song, the 26-year-old was happy to answer questions from his enthralled audience of young fans.

He talked about his love of football from a very young age and playing for Huddersfield Town Academy, a team that is still his favourite today.

Hanson started his senior career playing semi-professional non-league football with Eccleshill United and Guiseley, balancing his football career with a job in his local Co-operative supermarket.

With 46 goals scored in just two seasons he said he was ‘delighted’ to catch the eye of Bradford boss Stuart McCall who immediately signed him for Bradford City, where he has been a fan’s favourite since 2009.

Born and raised in Bradford, he admitted that being a professional footballer is his absolute dream job, especially playing for his local team and even better when the team is playing well.

“I have been at Bradford City now for six years and I love every minute of it,” he told his young admirers.

Asked about his training and particularly how he scored so many goals, James explained how he trained every day, with the schedule dependent on the matches ahead.

He put his goal-scoring success down to shear hard work and having the right attitude and encouraged all the children that, whatever they chose to do, these were certainly the best qualities to adopt.

Finally, as might be expected, he was asked about that winning goal against Aston Villa that secured Bradford City’s historic place in the League Cup final at Wembley.

“I had not scored for a while so I was particularly pleased with that goal” he said. “It felt like the best feeling in the world when it went in the back of the net.”

Staff at Lady Royd added their gratitude to the striker for calling in to the school, with Mr Sheard adding: “He is a very inspirational young man and a great role model for our young pupils…and of course he is from Bradford.”