Macauley Gillesphey was waiting at the far post when Callum Connolly swung in a corner against Peterborough United. Thirteen minutes into the match, Gillesphey converted the delivery and put Bradford City ahead.
Michael Duff had been asking his players to make more of their set pieces. Here was the response he wanted.
Bradford eventually won 2–0, with substitute Adam Phillips adding the second goal in the 67th minute. The victory carried them into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals and extended Duff’s record to five clean sheets in his first five matches.
For a manager who had only arrived in October, the numbers looked impressive.
His reaction told another story.
Duff described parts of the Peterborough performance as chaotic. Bradford had scored twice and kept another clean sheet, but their goalkeeper had also been called upon to rescue them from dangerous situations.
That tension runs through Duff’s first few weeks in charge. Bradford are getting results, their defence remains difficult to break down, and there are encouraging signs in attack. The question is how much of that success comes from the new manager, and how much was already there when he walked through the door.
A new manager without a broken team
When Graham Alexander left Bradford for Preston North End in late September, he did not leave behind a struggling side.
Bradford were competing near the top of League One, and their defensive record was already one of their biggest strengths. In their opening six league matches, they had kept four clean sheets. According to the EFL, it was their best defensive start of that kind since the 1988/89 season.
The club had good reasons to preserve what Alexander had built.
David Sharpe, Bradford’s head of football, explained that the search for a replacement had been guided by data and a clear idea of how the team should play. Duff appealed partly because his football shared important characteristics with Alexander’s: high pressing, low-risk possession and the use of wing-backs.
Bradford weren’t looking for someone to tear up the existing plan. They wanted a manager who understood it and could improve the parts that were holding them back.
Scoring goals was one of those areas.
Duff’s first response was to understand the players he had inherited. He asked them individually and anonymously to identify three reasons for the team’s success. Their answers highlighted collective effort, work rate and togetherness.
It was a useful starting point. Before changing anything, Duff wanted to know what the players believed was already working.
He also made clear that any adjustments would be gradual. Rather than immediately abandoning the back three, he was more interested in how Bradford could improve the positions and combinations of their attacking players.
The early results reflected that measured approach.
Bradford drew 0–0 with Leyton Orient in Duff’s first match, beat Stevenage 2–0, then recorded goalless draws against Burton Albion and Oxford United. The Peterborough victory made it five games without conceding.
Four goals scored. None conceded.
A manager could be satisfied with that defensive record. Duff had another problem to solve: Bradford had failed to score in three of those five matches.
The matches showed why he wanted more
At Oxford on 24 October, Bradford took time to settle.
The home side started strongly, and Gatlin O’Donkor had opportunities to put Oxford ahead. Jon McCracken had to intervene early, helping Bradford survive a difficult opening period.
Gradually, the visitors grew into the game.
Their pressing became more effective, they started finding better attacking positions, and Oxford goalkeeper Jamie Cumming was forced into saves from Connolly and Kayden Jackson.
The match finished 0–0, but Duff called it his team’s best performance since his appointment.
He liked the way they had responded to a difficult start. They had adjusted within the match rather than simply accepting that Oxford were on top.
Three days later, Peterborough presented a different challenge.
Bradford took the lead through Gillesphey’s corner goal, but the visitors found ways to threaten them after half-time.
Owura Edwards broke through and forced McCracken into a save. Soon afterwards, a defensive mistake gave Vernon Masara a one-on-one opportunity. Again, the goalkeeper kept Bradford ahead.
Ethan Williams later struck the crossbar, while Connolly had to make an important clearance.
Those moments explained Duff’s frustration after a 2–0 victory. He had watched his team score twice, but he had also seen how easily the match could have become uncomfortable.
The clean sheets deserve credit. So does McCracken, whose interventions have helped protect them.
It would be unfair to claim that Duff has transformed Bradford’s defence when Alexander left him such a strong foundation. Equally, keeping that organisation effective while changing managers and adjusting personnel is worthwhile work.
Duff’s more distinctive contribution is beginning to emerge at the other end of the pitch.
Where Duff is beginning to leave his mark
The Gillesphey goal was a small but important breakthrough.
Duff had specifically identified attacking set pieces as an area where Bradford needed a better return. Connolly’s corner gave them their first goal from that route under the new manager.
The available evidence does not establish whether the delivery came from a newly designed routine. The important development is that a part of Bradford’s attack which Duff wanted to improve had produced a goal.
There were other encouraging moments against Peterborough.
Jake Beesley played Bobby Pointon through before half-time, only for goalkeeper Alex Bass to stop him. Ibou Touray also tested Bass as Bradford looked for ways to extend their lead.
Then Duff made a decision that had a direct impact.
With Bradford still leading 1–0, he replaced George Lapslie with Adam Phillips in the 60th minute.
Seven minutes later, Beesley capitalised on a Peterborough defensive mistake and released Phillips, who finished to make it 2–0.
The goal owed plenty to Beesley’s awareness and Peterborough’s error. Phillips still had to finish the chance, and Duff had chosen to bring him into the match at a point when Bradford needed another goal.
His handling of Lapslie offers another glimpse of the choices he is making. The midfielder had received his first league start under Duff at Oxford and retained his place for Peterborough. Duff valued his energy, pressing and ability to operate in different positions.
These are the decisions through which a new manager starts to shape an inherited team.
Changing the formation would have made Duff’s influence more obvious to outsiders. He has chosen a less dramatic route, keeping the existing structure while exploring different attacking options.
That may be exactly what Bradford need.
The defence was already delivering results. If Duff can make the team more productive without weakening it, the club will have gained something valuable from a managerial change that initially appeared to be about continuity.
The next problem arrives quickly
Bradford face Huddersfield Town in League One on 31 October, and Duff will have to make an important adjustment.
Connolly, who supplied the corner against Peterborough and helped defend their lead, is suspended after accumulating five yellow cards.
His absence creates a question in midfield. Someone else will have to take on his responsibilities, and Bradford must find a way to maintain their defensive protection while continuing to support the attack.
There is also a far bigger occasion ahead. Bradford have drawn Manchester City away in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, scheduled for the week beginning 14 December.
That match will place their defensive organisation under a different level of pressure.
For now, Duff’s Bradford have made a promising start without pretending to be an entirely new team.
Alexander provided a strong base. Duff has protected it, started testing his attacking options and recognised the weaknesses that still need attention.
The next measure of his work will not simply be whether Bradford keep another clean sheet. It will be whether they can turn more of their possession, pressure and attacking opportunities into goals while remaining the difficult opponents they were before he arrived.
That is where Duff can make this team genuinely better.
Sources
- Bradford City — Peterborough match report, 27 October 2026
- Bradford City — Duff’s Oxford reaction, 25 October 2026
- Bradford City — Duff on the squad’s existing qualities, 11 October 2026
- Yorkshire Post — Bradford’s appointment rationale, 9 October 2026
- Yorkshire Post — Duff’s post-match criticism, 27 October 2026
- EFL — League One statistical record, 12 September 2026