There’s more to come from Dylan Connolly – Bradford boss Stuart McCall

Posted Sunday, March 01, 2020 by PA

Manager Stuart McCall believes there is more to come from man of the match Dylan Connolly after he inspired Bradford to a 2-1 victory over nine-man Plymouth.

Argyle skipper Gary Sawyer was sent off for a foul on Connolly, who soon after scored with a superb 20-yard strike to add to Ben Richards-Everton’s early opener.

Antoni Sarcevic was sent off for a second yellow card in the 84th minute before the nine men pulled one back through substitute Ryan Hardie.

Bradford held on for just their second win in 12 games and McCall hailed Connolly’s goal but warned the winger, who is on loan from AFC Wimbledon, that he can still improve.

McCall said: “Dylan scored with a fantastic finish. We are not wanting him to go out wide all the time but also help the strikers.

“He needs to improve on his quality with his final passes and score more goals, but he put that right with the goal today. There is more to come from him.”

McCall praised ground staff and volunteers for their work in getting the pitch fit for play.

He said: “A lot of people worked very hard and we are delighted we have been able to pay them back with three points.

“That said, I was relieved when the referee blew the final whistle because we could have managed the game better in the second half and I was disappointed when we conceded a goal after they went down to nine men.

“We have got to defend our box better and keep the ball better, but this result will give us a bit of confidence.”

Plymouth manager Ryan Lowe, whose side’s three-match winless run has dropped them to fifth, said: “I am disappointed in the result, but the lads showed tremendous character in the second half to get back in the game and if the game had gone on for another five or ten minutes we could have equalised.

“Were we beaten by a better team? Probably not but we were beaten nonetheless.”

“It wasn’t a great surface but I am not looking for excuses.

“We felt hard done by with a couple of decisions and I wasn’t happy with the first red card – I thought the Bradford player made a meal of it.”