Familiar foes

Adeyemi aiming to show Bradford the exit
TOM Adeyemi has an extra incentive to send Athletic within one step of a Wembley final tonight — the chance of getting one over on his former club.

The 20-year-old spent all of last season on loan at Bradford City, where he shone enough among a disappointing team to catch the attention of his current manager Paul Dickov.

Due to arrive back at Norwich City on January 3, strong-running midfield man Adeyemi hopes to help Athletic through their two big cup ties over the next week, even if a deal can’t be reached to keep him on at Boundary Park for longer.

“It is a very exciting game for all of us, given the stage of the competition,” he said of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Northern Area semi-final.

“It is probably that bit more special for me, as I was at Bradford last year. I am really looking forward to it. They are a massive club and obviously with the amount of fans they get in that league, they should be higher in the table.

“It was a similar case last year that we were doing well in cup competitions — we beat Nottingham Forest — and this season they have beaten Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield and Sheffield United and for some reason are not performing as well in the league. It is hard to put a finger on the reasons why. But we just know it will be a very hard game.”

The Bantams, third-bottom of npower League Two and working under their second permanent manager of the season in Phil Parkinson, certainly haven’t underachieved in this competition.

A trio of rare high points have arrived in what has been a bleak fall from grace in recent years.

Sheffield Wednesday were the first team defeated by Bradford via a penalty shoot-out after a goalless draw; Huddersfield Town were next after the tie finished 2-2 at full-time; and the latest victory was gained via sudden-death spot-kicks at Sheffield United following a 1-1 stalemate.

The winner of this one-off Northern Area semi-final will face either Preston or Chesterfield in a two-legged regional final.

The first leg will be played on either Tuesday, January 17, or the following day; the second leg follows on Tuesday, February 7 or the following day. The Wembley final is set for Sunday, March 25.

As for Adeyemi’s specific role in trying to help push Athletic through to the next stage, he is hoping to replace fellow ex-Bantam, suspended Dean Furman, in a central midfield role.

“It is something I would be excited by,” Adeyemi admitted. “It is my favourite position and one from which I think I can contribute most to the team. But I will do a job anywhere the manager wants to put me, as long as I am in the team.”