Bradford City are hoping history repeats itself 39 years after a former Huddersfield Town striker last fired them into the FA Cup quarter-finals.
And Chris Powell, who last month sanctioned Jon Stead’s continued stay at Valley Parade, would love to see him put his former club Sunderland to the sword in Sunday’s big fifth-found showdown in West Yorkshire.
Back in 1976, Billy McGinley was the hero of a dramatic 2-1 fifth-round win for Fourth Division City at then-top flight club Norwich City.
Signed from Town the previous close-season, the Scottish striker struck three minutes from the end to put Bobby Kennedy’s Bantams into the last eight for the first time since 1920.
City, whose previous Cup victims were Chesterfield, Rotherham United, Shrewsbury Town and Tooting & Mitcham United, sealed a home tie with Southampton.
Saints were 1-0 winners, and went on to win the cup at the expense of Manchester United.
The Cup run provided a huge financial boost for Bradford, who had considered going part-time after the previous season’s average league gate slumped to just 2,916.
The proceeds allowed a rare foray into the transfer market, and City paid £10,000 for Town skipper Terry Dolan, who helped them win promotion in 1977.
Stead is on loan to City, who are eighth in League I, but is out of contract at Town at the end of the season.
The 31-year-old, who had two years at Sunderland from 2005-07, has scored seven goals, notching in every round of the Cup so far, for Phil Parkinson’s side, who won 4-2 at Chelsea in round four.
Earlier in the competition, they beat FC Halifax Town, Dartford and Millwall.
Powell said: “I’m really pleased for Steady. I remember texting him soon after the Chelsea game and getting a reply the morning after, suggesting they’d had a good night!
“I like Steady, and I won’t forget that he scored my first goal as Huddersfield Town manager against Middlesbrough.
“But he wasn’t going to get much game time here, and Bradford wanted him. He knew the club well, having had a loan spell there last season before returning in October, and I advised him to stay.
“Steady has been a bit of a catalyst for them, and I hope he will continue to have an influence and perhaps help them get up into the Championship.”
Former Town manager Simon Grayson, whose squad includes ex-John Smith’s player Tom Clarke, aims to lead Preston North End to a shock fifth-round victory over Manchester United at Deepdale on Monday.
