Bradford City 2-0 Peterborough United: Gillesphey and Phillips book a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Manchester City

Bradford City are into the last eight of the Carabao Cup. Two goals, one early and one from the bench, were enough to see off Peterborough United 2-0 on Tuesday night, and the reward is a quarter-final tie against Manchester City in December.

Macaulay Gillesphey put the hosts ahead in the 13th minute, finishing a move that Callum Connolly set up. The centre-back had been booked in the 5th minute, so he scored on a yellow card, and the early caution set the tone: Bradford had five players booked by the 34th minute, with Reece Welch, George Lapslie, Bobby Pointon and Connolly all joining Gillesphey in the referee's notebook.

Peterborough never found a way back. The second goal came in the 67th minute and belonged to a substitute: Adam Phillips, off the bench, was found by Jake Beesley and finished. Peterborough managed three shots on target all night, against eight for Bradford.

Goals and cards

1. 13' — Macaulay Gillesphey (Bradford City), assisted by Callum Connolly, 1-0
2. 67' — Adam Phillips (Bradford City), assisted by Jake Beesley, 2-0

Six yellow cards went to Bradford (Gillesphey, Welch, Lapslie, Pointon, Connolly and Kieran Morgan, who was booked in the 86th minute) and two to Peterborough: Lucca Mendonça in the 59th and Harley Mills in the 73rd. There were no red cards.

Match stats

Line-ups

Bradford City (3-4-2-1): Jon McCracken; Matthew Pennington, Macaulay Gillesphey, Reece Welch; Callum Connolly, George Lapslie, Ibou Touray, Corey O'Keefe; Jake Beesley, Bobby Pointon, Antoni Sarcevic. Substitutes used: Kayden Jackson, Will Swan, Adam Phillips, Aden Baldwin and Kieran Morgan.

Peterborough United (4-2-3-1): Alex Bass; Josh Feeney, Lucca Mendonça, Harley Mills, Carl Johnston; Ethan Williams, Harry Ashfield; Brandon Khela, Danny Ormerod, Owura Edwards; Vernon Masara. Substitutes used: Matthew Garbett, Harrison Jones, Declan Frith, Bolu Shofowoke and James Dornelly.

A rematch with the same ending

This was the second meeting of the season between the sides. On 15 August, in Sky Bet League One, Bradford won 2-0 as well, with Gillesphey (54') and Nick Powell (75') on the scoresheet. Two meetings, two clean sheets for Bradford, and Gillesphey on the scoresheet in both.

How both clubs got here

Bradford began their cup run in the first round on 8 August with a 2-0 home win over Rochdale. In the second round they drew 0-0 with Burnley at home and won the shootout 4-2, and in the third round they won 3-1 at Leyton Orient. Beating Peterborough makes it four wins from four ties.

Peterborough had a rougher road but a high-scoring one. They beat Bristol Rovers 1-0 away in round one, won 5-1 at Watford in round two, and in the third round edged Barnsley on penalties, 7-6 after a 3-3 draw. Their run ends here.

What's next

The quarter-final draw has put Bradford City against Manchester City, with City listed as the home side, on Tuesday 15 December 2026 at 20:00. It is a single-leg tie, so one match decides who goes through to the semi-finals. Peterborough United are out.