Graham Alexander hails Bradford togetherness after last-gasp win

Bradford boss Graham Alexander praised the togetherness of his squad after they came from a goal down to secure a dramatic late win over Salford.

The Bantams trailed to Frankie Okoronkwo’s opener, but Brad Halliday equalised and Michael Mellon struck a stoppage-time winner to earn Alexander victory over his former employers.

Bradford’s third straight win cemented their position in the SkyBet League Two automatic promotion places.

“We had to be patient and disciplined this afternoon,” said Alexander.

“It was a real attritional game and a difficult pitch for both teams to play on, but the players have given everything of themselves and are emptying themselves game in, game out.

“It’s a happy changing room in there because they know it was a real tough fixture to win today. The players have created a strong sense of responsibility, accountability and teamwork and they’re all putting the team ahead of themselves individually.

“I was disappointed with the goal that we conceded because we can do better there. I said to the guys at half-time, if we don’t give anything silly away and stay disciplined, I thought we’d have the quality to score and it proved that way.

“It was special to go and celebrate with fans at the end of the game after the winning goal because a lot of the time in football it’s not like that. When you’re stood there seeing the appreciation between the players and the crowd, it’s brilliant to witness and is a special feeling to be a part of.”

Salford manager Karl Robinson was frustrated his side let a result against the league’s most in-form side slip through their fingers so late on, having matched them through the majority of the contest.

Robinson blamed himself for the timing of a double substitution which came a minute before Halliday’s equaliser, which gave the visitors the momentum to eventually claim victory.

“I don’t think there was anything in between the teams today,” said Robinson. “If I have a criticism of anyone today it was of me, making that substitution when we did.

“They made their three substitutions and we made our two immediately after that to keep some kind of flow in the game. I probably shouldn’t have made those substitutions at the time, so I’ll take responsibility for that.

“It’s not the time for me to criticise our team when their performance levels were very good and our energy output was incredible, so we were bitterly disappointed in the end.

“If you look at our last four games, it’s hard to criticise especially with the injuries we’ve had, with Wimbledon away, Port Vale away, Walsall away and the most in-form team in the league Bradford.

“To throw a 1-0 win away is criminal, but we had one or two goalscoring opportunities that we didn’t accept.”