Simon Weaver proud of Harrogate for putting league form aside to beat Bradford
Posted Saturday, November 05, 2022 by PA
Simon Weaver expressed his pride after Harrogate put their poor Sky Bet League Two form to one side to knock Bradford out of the FA Cup at Valley Parade.
Matthew Daly, who was on loan with the Bantams last season, netted the winner after eight minutes – scoring for the fourth successive game.
Jack Muldoon cut inside to set up midfielder Daly, whose shot went in off a post despite goalkeeper Harry Lewis getting a touch.
Tyreik Wright led Bradford’s response, heading wide from Matty Foulds’ cross and then twice going close.
But the home side failed to register a single shot on target – much to the delight of Harrogate manager Weaver.
He said: “I’m so proud of the players. It’s a big win for the club.
“It comes at a good time for us after last week when we conceded two goals late on after a good performance otherwise.
“We reminded the lads we had to remain focused and working on the organisation defensively so we could break it up and counter-attack.
“We did that really well at times and just missed that finishing touch to kill the game off. The latter moments remained fractious and anxious but the lads remained as composed as they possibly could.
“We had to play the game and not the occasion. Me getting booked probably didn’t help in terms of the noise at the Bradford end but the players kept their composure and you have to.
“I got a yellow card for waving my hands up in the air and that dumbfounds you.”
Harrogate, who had won their two previous league visits to Valley Parade, could have won by more.
Danny Grant shot wide after being played through and Jack Muldoon was denied by a goal-line clearance from Romoney Crichlow.
Bradford manager Mark Hughes, a four-time FA Cup winner, said: “It was a poor performance from us.
“Credit to Harrogate, who came with a game plan and executed it really well. They caused us more problems than we caused them.
“I just thought we started really slowly for whatever reason and weren’t able to get into our stride. We were slow out of the blocks and they scored during that period.
“With a goal to protect, it was perfect for them to just sit back and wait for our mistakes – and unfortunately there were many.
“It’s difficult to get a result out of a game when you’ve got too many guys not playing at the level we know they are capable of.
“This was a missed opportunity. We’ve gone out of a cup competition that we wanted to do well in.
“But we’ve got to park this for another year and concentrate on making sure we’re getting points on the board again.”
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