[BRADFORD LOCKER ROOM – HALFTIME]
The atmosphere in the Bradford locker room felt like a mini party. Laughter, cheers, and the sound of water bottles popping open echoed around. The young pyers couldn't hide their excitement.Condrad, the experienced captain, pyfully spped the heads of Duvant and Lucien, a wide grin on his face.“You crazy kids! Is this a preseason match or a birthday party, huh?”
Duvant immediately rolled his eyes and lightly spped Condrad’s arm.Lucien, on the other hand, just froze—he wasn’t exactly great at socializing.“Oi, cut it out old man, you’re freezing Lucien up—oiii Lucien snap out of it!” Duvant said as he shook Lucien’s shoulders repeatedly.
The whole locker room burst into ughter. Even the usually quiet young pyers were ughing.For the first time, Bradford looked like a team with real spirit.
But the ughter slowly faded as Reinhart, McNeil, and Malcom entered the room.Reinhart stood before them all. For a moment, a small smile appeared on his face.“Well done. Three brilliant goals. Clean execution. But…”
His smile disappeared. His tone returned to its usual icy calm.He looked at each of his pyers—sharp and composed.
“Koji, you took too long to decide on your first cross.Ismael, you lost focus twice during transition.Iron, you were standing too far forward when York countered.Condrad… too far up during the aerial duel.Lucien, you need to understand your teammates better—be braver in creating momentum.Duvant, you pyed well, but smooth out your movements. You were lucky their defender was just a Css-C.Mike, I don’t need to say much—you already know. Strengthen your physique ter. I’ll be watching. But near the end of the half, you performed well.Matias, you failed many dribbles and seem to still rely on your target-man style. Keep working on that.Lucas, you hesitated too much when deciding whether to push forward. That cost you the chance to support the attack.”
The pyers fell silent. But they listened—not out of fear, but out of respect.Reinhart lowered his head briefly, then looked back up.
“Second half, we drown them.”He opened the tactics board.“We’re switching pyers. Remember, it’s preseason—we’re testing every tactic. We stay with 4-2-2-2. But make it more fluid. Cut inside and overpping runs on the right side.....
[SECOND HALF BEGINS – THE STADIUM ERUPTS IN CHEERS]
Bradford City makes several substitutions:
Matias & Koji are repced by Oillie and Anderson. Oillie is a 16-year-old young striker, while Anderson is a veteran winger.Ismael & Iron are repced by Harry Shalked and Eden Mirza—midfielders whose ability to fill those roles remains uncertain.Condrad & Thomas are repced by Tom Shield and Chris Jhon.Mike Lankshear, who debuted in the first half, is repced by veteran right-back Mike Aliston.[Commentator 1]:“Whoa! Here we go! Bradford is… basically swapping out almost the entire team!”
[Commentator 2]:“Four 15-year-old pyers are now on the pitch. This isn’t just an experiment—this is a revolution! What kind of performance will Eden and Harry deliver? Will they be as terrifying as Duvant and Lucien?”
The York supporters fall silent. Instead of feeling relieved by the introduction of young substitutes, they look anxious.Because they’ve already seen what these kids are capable of.
[Second half kick-off begins]
