Bradford City 7-0 Marine; Emirates FA Cup 1st Round; Saturday 7th November 2026.
Fallon Davies reporting from MBANQ Valley Parade stadium.
The Mariners bowed out of the FA Cup after a hard-fought contest against a strong Bradford side.
Bradford took an early lead when Nick Powell ran unmarked into the six-yard box and beat McIntyre to a low cross to score.
Powell soon doubled Bradford’s lead, rising above Drysdale to head home a well-delivered cross.
Bradford’s third followed shortly afterwards, as Adam Phillips beat the offside trap and smashed it past McIntyre.
Despite Bradford’s early dominance, Marine created chances. Charlie Jolley drove into the box and through on goal, but pressure from the Bradford defence forced his effort just wide of the far post.
Mathew Pennington added Bradford’s fourth, reacting first to the rebound after an excellent save by McIntyre.
Marine began the second half with renewed energy. New signing Carlos Dos Santos won a corner five minutes after the restart, but Sinclair-Smith’s delivery narrowly missed Josh Wardle’s head at the back post.
The referee awarded a penalty for an apparent pull by Abankwah on a Bradford striker, who still managed a header that drew another fine save from McIntyre. Abankwah was controversially sent off, but Jack McIntyre came to Marine’s rescue, saving George Lapslie’s penalty with his leg as it was struck down the middle.
Substitute Will Swan scored Bradford’s fifth, finishing neatly from a well-worked pass into the six-yard box.
Bradford exploited their numerical advantage to create further chances, but McIntyre remained unfazed by the scoreline and made several outstanding saves.
Lasplie turned superbly to break clear of Marine’s defence before beating McIntyre one-on-one with a finish into the bottom corner for Bradford’s sixth.
Marine continued to threaten. Sinclair-Smith’s cross picked out Kattah, who rose high but could not reach the ball under pressure from several Bradford defenders.
Adam Phillips completed the scoring with a superb finish into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area, leaving McIntyre no chance.
The Mariners exited the FA Cup but went down fighting against full-time opposition, while our superb away support outshone the home fans.
Marine (4-3-3): McIntyre, Abankwah, Drysdale, Wardle, Doyle, Whelan, Darby (Dos Santos 37′), Raikhy (Huby 78′), Sinclair-Smith (McAleny 78′), Newell (Kattah 37′), Jolley (Potter 64′).
Unused substitutes: Timmins, Lawless, Simms, Whittingham.
Attendance: 7,149 (1,255 Marine)
