Bradford City had an incredible run in the League Cup under Phil Parkinson in 2013 but eventually fell at the final hurdle against Swansea City at Wembley.
It may have all come crashing down for Bradford City on February 24th 2013, but their League Cup run that season was quite extraordinary. A League Two club at the time who had finished 18th in England’s fourth tier the previous season, the Bantams beat three Premier League teams on route to the final, including Arsenal and that season’s FA Cup winners Wigan Athletic.
In doing so, Bradford reached their first cup final for 102 years and became the first fourth division side to reach a major domestic cup final since Rochdale more than half a century earlier. The big pitch at Wembley favoured a Swansea City team who loved to play an extensive passing game which proved too much for Phil Parkinson’s men.
Any chance of an upset and a fourth Premier League scalp in the competition was scuppered when Matt Duke was dismissed for bringing down Jonathan de Guzman in the penalty area with the Swans already 3 goals to the good. Despite the defeat, the Bradford team of 2013 deserve immense credit for their cup run, and 3 years on, we take a look at where their starting XI for the final are now.
Swansea’s Nathan Dyer in action with Bradford City’s Nathan Doyle
Matt Duke
It wasn’t a dream day out at Wembley for Matt Duke, conceding 3 goals prior to his sending off, but Bradford owed an awful lot of that cup run down to the experienced goalkeeper’s heroics. Long time Hull City number 2, Duke is a cancer survivor and all-round good guy. He left Bradford in 2013 and now, aged 39, he is the first team goalkeeping coach at Chesterfield.
Stephen Darby
Former Liverpool trainee Stephen Darby has been at Bradford City for four-and-a-half years now, and the 28-year-old has been an excellent servant for the League One side. Darby served as captain from 2014 to 2016 and has more than 150 appearances to his name.
Rory McArdle
The second of three players who started for the Bantams at Wembley against Swansea that is still playing for the club, Rory McArdle also joined Bradford City in 2012, and he too has made more than 150 appearances for the club. Capped 7 times by Northern Ireland, McArdle arrived at Valley Parade from Aberdeen, and was named the club’s 2014/15 Player of the Year.
Carl McHugh
Carl McHugh in action for Bradford vs Swansea
Carl McHugh is a versatile young Irishman who was just 20 Bradford reached the League Cup final. A product of the Reading academy, McHugh played 44 games and scored 4 goals in 2 years at Valley Parade, before departing for Plymouth. Aged 23, McHugh joined Motherwell in the summer.
Curtis Good
Australian international Curtis Good didn’t have the best of times on-loan at Bradford. He made just 3 league appearances, as well as making an appearance in the FA Cup which caused Bradford to initially be removed from the competition as he hadn’t been registered in time and an appearance in the League Cup final where the team lost 5-0 and he was subbed at half time.
The 23-year-old has had a short but injury plagued career and is currently back at his parent club Newcastle looking to get his career back on track following 2 years of injury troubles.
Garry Thompson
Experienced winger Garry Thompson spent 2 years at Bradford City, scoring 8 goals in 85 league games. A goal scorer in the Bantams huge quarterfinal victory over Arsenal, Thompson also assisted two of the club’s three goals in the playoff final, helping Bradford secure promotion to League One. The 36-year-old now plays his football for Wycombe Wanderers.
Gary Jones
Rochdale’s all-time record appearance holder Gary Jones captained Bradford City in the play-off final and won the Bantams Player of the Year award that season. A former Swansea player himself, Jones is now 39 but still playing in the highly competitive National League for Southport.
Nathan Doyle
Swansea City’s Pablo Hernandez in action against Bradford City’s Nathan Doyle
Nathan Doyle represented England at four different youth levels during his time at Derby County, which included a season long loan move to Bradford in 2006/07. He eventually came to Valley Parade on a permanent deal in 2012, after a few years with Hull City and Barnsley, and currently plays his club football in League Two with Luton Town.
Will Atkinson
Having previous with Hull City was something of a theme of the Bradford City starting XI at Wembley, and Will Atkinson is the third player to have previously played for the Tigers. Atkinson made 2 appearances for Hull in the Premier League and even scored a goal. He left Bradford in 2013 to link up with his former boss Phil Brown, who is currently in charge at Southend.
James Hanson
Towering centre-forward James Hanson is the last of three League Cup final heroes still playing for Bradford, and the 29-year-old is still in reasonable goal scoring form, as well as providing a good foil for Irishman Billy Clarke.
Nahki Wells
Back in 2013, it was Nahki Wells who Hanson was providing a foil for, making an excellent little and large partnership which saw the Bermudan international be very prolific for the Bantams, scoring 53 goals in 112 games. Sold by Bradford to Huddersfield for a reported £1.5 million in 2014, Wells is still playing for the Terriers but has been widely linked with a move away.
Nahki Wells celebrates scoring for Huddersfield Town
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