Football: Bradford substitute keeper after two minutes as EFL Trophy descends into farce

The EFL Trophy descended further into farce on Tuesday night as Bradford City substituted their goalkeeper after two minutes to get around restrictive player selection rules.

Teams taking part in the competition are required to field five 'first-team' players despite the congested fixture lists facing sides up and down the country every season.

These players must either have played in the club's last league match, play in the next league match or be among the club's five highest appearance-makers this season.

[EFL TROPHY IS A 'DISASTER' THAT NO-ONE SEEMS BOTHERED ABOUT]

Bradford stuck to those rules but decided to swap goalkeeper Colin Doyle for fellow shot-stopper Rouven Sattelmaier within minutes of the kick-off against Bury at the Northern Commercials Stadium.

“I thought he had a poor 45 seconds," joked Bradford assistant boss Kenny Black after the 2-1 victory over Bury.

“We were certainly keen to keep the momentum going from our recent league form.

“We've had back-to-back victories in the league and now we've had back-to-back victories in this competition.

“Certainly in the first hour, I think we played some really good stuff.”

That victory made it two wins out of two for Bradford in this year’s Trophy and they now only require a draw in their final Northern Group C match away at Morecambe to guarantee a spot in the knockout stage.

The EFL Trophy has come in for heavy criticism following a restructure of the format this term and MK Dons boss Karl Robinson was particularly stinging in his assessment of the competition.

He told the BBC: "How can we have a development trophy for Premier League teams who can do what they want, yet we can't develop our own players in it?"

However, FA technical director Dan Ashworth has defended the tournament and has given his full support to the new group stage.

“We all want our senior teams throughout the leagues to be stocked full of home-grown players that have come through the system. It is better for all of the clubs and the national team.

“It is a pilot year for the Checkatrade Trophy. We will support the competition going forward and have a format that everybody feels will be worthwhile opportunity for younger players.

“Over the next two or three years, younger players could have played 15-18 senior games and that will help bridge the gap between youth and senior football.

“We’ve seen with tennis and cycling, there is a real spike in participation from grassroots right the way through to professional level when they’ve performed well on an international stage. By having a healthy and successful England senior football team, it will only be good for the game.”