Bradford City 5 AFC Wimbledon 1 Forward play thrills Parkinson

By Robert Gledhill

BRADFORD CITY boss Phil Parkinson lavished praise on his side after they dismantled sorry AFC Wimbledon in an inspired first-half - which saw them saw five times in a 5-1 routing.

City secured their second home win of the week in comprehensive fashion, dispatching defensively deficient visitors in ruthless fashion, to the delight of Parkinson.

He said: “During the first half we felt like we could score every time we went forward and that’s credit to the boys.

“Our front four - (Kyel) Reid, (Zavon) Hines, (James) Hanson and (Nahki) Wells seemed to have the beating of their own particular opponents on the pitch.

“And when you have the likes of (Gary) Jones and (Nathan) Doyle behind them ready to pick the ball up and pass it about, that’s a great little balance to have.

“The start half was a bit flat - not helped by the lengthy stoppage (for Curtis Haynes-Brown’s injury) didn’t help - but we still had some good chances to maybe score again.

“But I’ll try to not be too greedy - five-one is a great scoreline.

“I don’t think I’ve been in charge of many teams that have been five-one up at half time. To do something like that, you have to take your chances and we certainly did.”

Parkinson was able to name an unchanged side with Nahki Wells and James Hanson, who scored the winner in midweek against Fleetwood, starting up front with both managing to find the net against the Londoners.

Wimbledon made four changes to the side thrashed 6-2 at Burton Albion, including a debut for Yeovil loanee Curtis Haynes-Brown at left-back.

City got off to a flying start, Wells nipping in to convert a long ball from goalkeeper Matt Duke in the third minute before Haynes-Brown slid a low cross from Kyel Reid into his own net in the 12th.

It was 3-0 in the 32nd minute when goalkeeper Seb Brown misjudged a free-kick from near halfway from Gary Jones and Andrew Davies got the faintest of touches before the ball nestled in the net.

Wimbledon grabbed a lifeline four minutes later when Byron Harrison headed homefrom Louis Harris’s free-kick.

Joy proved short-lived as Rory McArdle made it 4-1 turning home Hanson’s downward header from a corner a minute later.

It was 5-1 by the break as Hanson headed home a cross from Wells.

There was a lengthy hold-up after the break before Haynes-Brown was stretchered off after a collision with Zavon Hines as the winger tried to convert a cross from Wells.

Both sides made changes but the second half was a tepid affair with City having wrapped up the points before the break.

Bradford Duke, Meredith, Davies, Oliver, McArdle, Reid, Jones, Doyle (Thompson 74), Hanson, Hines (Atkinson 74), Wells (Connell 79): Unused subs: McLaughlin, Darvby, McHugh, Hannah.

AFC Wimbledon: Brown, Harris, Balkestein, Mitchell-King, Fenlon (MacDonald 74), Haynes-Brown (Cummings 68), Long, S Moore, Jolley (Merrifield 87), Harrison, Midson. Subs not used: Jaimez-Ruiz, Sweeney, Kiernan, Stratton

Referee: Pat Miller

Attendance: 9,436.