Bradford boss Mark Hughes rues ‘unfortunate’ defeat as Swindon snatch late win

Posted Sunday, March 06, 2022 by PA

Bradford boss Mark Hughes felt his team deserved better after Jack Payne’s stoppage-time penalty earned Swindon a 2-1 victory.

Payne, making his first appearance since New Year’s Day following a knee injury, struck in the sixth minute of added time to hand Hughes his second straight defeat since taking charge.

Bradford started brightly and Gareth Evans gave them the lead in a lively encounter, only for Swindon to hit back three minutes later through top-scorer Harry McKirdy.

Bradford goalkeeper Alex Bass produced two good late saves from McKirdy and Josh Davison, but then gave away the last-gasp penalty with a foul on Ellis Iandolo.

Hughes said: “We were unfortunate to lose the game. We warranted taking something by the manner of our performance.

“We created a lot of chances and could have taken the game away from them quite early on. At 1-1, there’s always a risk they might create something.

“They get a lucky deflection from a shot that goes to the side of the goal, Alex makes a decision and it was a penalty.”

Hughes refused to blame Portsmouth loanee Bass for the decisive goal.

“I won’t knock him for it,” he added. “Alex made a couple of saves just prior to that to keep us in the game, so no criticism from me.

“He played exceptionally well today, as did pretty much everybody. I thought the team was good and probably produced a better performance than I even expected after my short period I’ve worked with them.

“They are maybe trying to do things a little bit differently and they’ll get better at that the more they do it.”

The win was Swindon’s fourth in five games and moved them back into the play-off places.

Head coach Ben Garner said: “We weren’t as good with the ball today as we normally are, but we showed grit and character to win the game.

“That was the first of five games in a short period of time and sometimes you’ve got to grind out points and show that will to win. I’m really pleased with that.

“We lost Joe Tomlinson in the warm-up, so we had to change shape, so I’m absolutely over the moon with the win.

“It was good pressure at the end, crosses coming in, corners and then we get the penalty and Payney shows the composure to put it away.

“We started slowly and didn’t get into the tempo of the game. We didn’t compete quick enough in the first 15 minutes, but we finished the strongest in both halves.

“It was brilliant to have Jack Payne back, he gave us real quality when he came on. He has that energy and drive as well as the composure and poise on the ball. He makes us tick.”