Mark Hughes raging after referee dismisses Bradford penalty claims against Crewe

Posted Sunday, August 28, 2022 by PA

Mark Hughes felt Bradford were twice denied a penalty in stoppage time of their goalless draw with Crewe at Valley Parade.

Referee Sunny Gill, in charge of his third EFL game, turned down home appeals for a foul on Vadaine Oliver and a hand ball against Alex defender Kelvin Mellor in the same move.

Hughes said: “They are two clear penalties. He could have got himself off the hook by giving the second because he got the first one wrong.

“We’ve put a decent ball in, Vadaine’s clearly going to make contact and he’s just been impeded.

“The ball ricochets out and the lad stops it with his hand – it’s a goal-bound shot. We need things like that to go for us.”

It was the second goalless draw in three league games at home for Bradford, who hit the bar through on-loan Crystal Palace winger Scott Banks.

The Scottish Under-21 international was also denied by Crewe’s Arsenal loanee Arthur Okonkwo.

Hughes admits his team need to find a way to break through opponents who are happy to sit back and defend in numbers.

He added: “Another team have come with the intention of frustrating and slowing the game down. It’s not really enjoyable for everybody.

“We can take it as a compliment that teams don’t want to open up against us because they know it’s going to allow us to have that space and opportunity to damage them.

“But our home form is certainly better than it was last year and will continue to improve once we find a way to unpick the lock at the top end of the pitch.”

Courtney Baker-Richardson had two chances for Crewe in the second half.

But after conceding an equaliser in added time against Northampton last week, manager Alex Morris was delighted with the response.

He said: “I think that was our best performance of the season, all things considered.

“We’ve seen things today that we haven’t seen in other games. We’ve had more control in terms of possession in both halves of the pitch and created opportunities.

“Obviously the defending was outstanding as well – it was a complete performance.

“It’s a shame we couldn’t have nicked a goal because that would have merited the way we played. But you can’t be greedy off the back of the setback we had last week.

“People have got to stick with us. Week-by-week there will be improvements.

“Steadily as the season goes on, we’ll start to show more with the ball – and without the ball it’s not a worry. This group gives you everything in terms of providing a defensive structure. It’s a really good step forward.”