‘Didn’t do themselves any harm’: £1.2m Portsmouth man’s timely Bradford City breakthrough as Blues threaten to end stay
Hayden Matthews has featured five times for Bradford City during a difficult loan stay away from Fratton Park
Hayden Matthews has put himself in contention for League One minutes with Bradford City.
That’s according to head coach Michael Duff, who believes the Pompey loanee has been ‘excellent’ during the Bantams’ previous two cup contests.
Matthews is yet to feature for high-flying Bradford in League One so far, with his appearances so far limited to cup competitions.
The Aussie impressed off the bench in a 7-0 triumph against non-league Marine in the FA Cup on Saturday before starting Tuesday’s EFL Trophy success against York City.
Pompey loanee lauded by Bradford boss amid timely breakthrough
It represented Matthews’ first full 90 minute display since his Valley Parade switch, with his contributions being recognised by Duff.
Indeed, the Bradford boss has heavily praised the Pompey loanee and admitted he hasn’t done his chances of League One minutes ‘any harm’.
‘We obviously get a look at some of the younger ones’, Duff told BBC Radio Leeds.
‘Other than that, I don’t need to learn that much about them in terms of individuals. I know the way they want to play and it’s just about adding a few things into their game.
‘Kieran Morgan had his best performance under us, definitely. But I thought Hayden Matthews was excellent. The back three were good, but I thought Hayden was excellent again.
‘So there’s people that haven’t had many minutes so that is the bit you probably are learning. You see them in training but training is never quite the same.
‘Those two in particular - out of the newer ones that I haven’t seen loads of - definitely didn’t do themselves any harm.’
Hayden Matthews’ Bradford future
Matthews has had to bide his time at Bradford, who currently sit seventh in the League One standings after an outstanding start to the season.
Having conceded just eight league goals this term, George Pratt, Matthew Pennington and Aden Baldwin have nailed down their spots at the heart of defence.
This has left the Pompey man in the cold so far, although his recent displays will no doubt give Duff food for thought for their game against Doncaster next week having lost 3-0 to Huddersfield Town in their last league game.
He recently told The News: ‘I would love them to be playing on loan. You take Hayden, Bradford have an absolutely ridiculous defensive record and I’m not entirely sure whether they can make the change there because they are so good.
‘He has played in the EFL Trophy and did very well, beating Rotherham 4-0, but getting into that league side is going to be difficult.
‘You've got a side flying around the top of League One, in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup with a regular back three. That’s a tough job for Hayden.
‘Reading aren’t quite as solid as Bradford defensively, but they are flying in the league as well.
‘There’s plenty of time in the season, plenty of time for things to change, we just have to be patient with both of them and see where we are in January.
‘There are recall options. If they are not getting minutes, I’m sure the players will want to go and look elsewhere. It will be a good experience for them anyway.
‘That’s sometimes what happens. Hayden is an unbelievable example, he’s gone out on loan with every intention to play, but unfortunately Bradford’s record is one of the best in the country. We’ll see what happens - they need to play.’