Bradford shocked Villa in the first leg of the Capital One Cup Semi-Final. The League Two team beat the Lambert team with 3:1 after beating Arsenal with 3:2 in the quarter-final and Wigan with 4:2 in the fourth round.
Bradford entered the game as the clear underdog and Villa started well in the first 15 minutes and Benteke had four opportunities to give Villa the perfect start, but was denied by an outstanding Duke. However, Bradford took the lead in the 19th minute through Wells who finished with a powerful finish after a corner. The stadium went wild and Bradford pushed for a second one in the following minutes. Villa got lucky when they were able to clear a Hanson’s header off the line by Fabian Delph. Bradford was constantly dangerous and continued in the second half. McArdle extended the lead in the 77th minute after Villa failed to clear a corner. Hanson headed against the bar in the following minutes. In the 82nd minute, Weimann gave Villa at least some hope for the second leg when he scored the 2:1, but Bradford restored the two goal lead when McHugh scored a header after another Jones delivery.
Wells said: “We showed our quality and that we can compete with Premier League teams. We were resilient, it was a tough match and we showed what we are capable of. To have a two-goal cushion is great.”
Bradford will head to Villa Park for the second leg on January 22nd, 2013.
