Bradford City beat Peterborough United 2-0 in the League Cup last 16

Bradford City and Peterborough United were level on possession at 50 per cent each, a shot apart at 15 to 16, close on passes at 356 to 350 and close on touches in the opposition box at 26 to 25. The tie was decided by the column where they were not close at all: Bradford put 8 shots on target, Peterborough 3.

Gillesphey had been booked in the 5th minute; by the 13th he had the game's first goal, converting from Connolly's assist. Peterborough's shooting told its own story. They took 8 of their 16 shots from outside the box to Bradford's 3, put 7 off target and had 6 blocked, and Bradford carried 1-0 to half-time without their goalkeeper being overworked: McCracken made 1 save all game.

The bookings kept arriving at the same end. Welch in the 20th minute, Lapslie in the 28th, Pointon in the 31st and Connolly in the 34th followed Gillesphey into Thomas Kirk's book, and Bradford finished with 6 yellow cards to Peterborough's 2. A winning side rarely carries a card count like that; it says how much of the game Bradford spent stopping things rather than keeping the ball.

Robbie Savage changed three at once in the 57th minute, sending on Dornelly, Garbett and Shofowoke. Michael Duff was already ahead of him. Baldwin and Jackson had arrived in the 53rd, Phillips followed in the 60th and Swan in the 61st, and it was Phillips who settled the tie in the 67th, finishing from Beesley's assist. Peterborough made 5 saves at the other end, which kept the score respectable while the game got away from them.

The physical exchanges went one way. Bradford won 66 duels to 53 and 29 aerial duels to 16, made 39 clearances to 35 and were caught offside 5 times to Peterborough's once, the surplus of a side happy to play early and direct: 78 long balls to 88 says both teams were, but only one of them won the headers.

An attendance of 14,732 watched it. Before this game Bradford had not lost in the five matches listed in their form guide, while Peterborough's listed five held a 4-1 defeat at Huddersfield Town and a 3-1 win at Leicester City in League One. On this evidence the gap between the sides is smaller than the scoreline, except in the place where games are decided.

Three meetings are listed here, and Bradford City have not lost any of them: 2-0 at home to Peterborough United in League One in August 2026, 2-0 at home in League One in February 2026 and a 1-1 draw at Peterborough in August 2025. This 2-0 makes it a familiar scoreline.