Graham Alexander felt Bradford should have beaten Cheltenham

Posted Wednesday, October 23, 2024 by PA

Graham Alexander was left frustrated as Bradford’s three-match winning run was ended by a 1-1 draw at Cheltenham.

Neill Byrne put the Bantams ahead inside five minutes, but Luke Young smashed in a long-range equaliser 10 minutes later and Bradford did not regain control until after half-time.

They controlled much of the second period, but could not find a winner and missed out on a chance to climb into the top three in League Two.

“We are frustrated really after taking the lead,” Alexander said.

“We allowed Cheltenham to get back in the game by not doing the basics well and we were second best on a lot of duels at the front and the back, to be honest.

“Their competitiveness got on top of us first half and they will feel they deserved their equaliser because they had good opportunities.

“The second half was exactly what we wanted because it was completely dominant and we should have won the game, but we couldn’t find that elusive second goal.

“We had good opportunities, hit the bar and it was much better on a competitive level, which allowed us to show our quality.”

Byrne nodded in Richie Smallwood’s free-kick for his second goal in two games.

But the Robins responded when Harrison Sohna rolled a corner to Young who tried his luck from 30 yards and although Sam Walker got a hand to it, he could not keep it out.

Cheltenham looked the more threatening until half-time, with Joel Colwill forcing a reaction save from Walker and Jordan Thomas also denied by the Bradford number one.

Bradford improved after the break, with Andy Cook’s header kept out by Joe Day in the 50th minute.

Bobby Pointon saw a shot hit the bar in the 55th minute and the same player drew another stop from Day seconds later.

Cheltenham’s best effort of the second half was a low shot from Ethon Archer that Walker turned around the post in the 79th minute as honours finished even.

Robins boss Michael Flynn felt his side were denied a perfectly good goal in the opening minutes, when George Miller found the net only to be flagged for offside.

“George is onside when the ball is played and we should also have had a penalty in the first half for handball,” Flynn said.

“Bradford were the better team second half and I am not taking away from that, but it was a really, really good performance first half. I thought we were excellent.

“Second half, they got on top, but we stuck to it and we’d have lost that game two weeks ago, so I am proud of the players.

“They’ve been clapped off today and that’s the minimum that I require from them.”