Graham Alexander hails 10-man Bradford’s resilience after Crewe draw

Graham Alexander hailed Bradford’s resilience after goalscorer Alex Pattison’s sending-off left his side to negotiate a difficult second half at Crewe.

Pattison was shown a straight red card two minutes after his low finish levelled the game for the Bantams, who fell behind to Omar Bogle’s far-post finish shortly after the interval.

Bradford enjoyed the better of the first half, but Pattison’s controversial dismissal – for kicking the ball at grounded goalscorer Bogle – handed the advantage to Crewe in a game which also saw referee Ben Toner hand out nine yellow cards and book Alexander as well as Crewe assistant manager Ryan Dicker.

“The red card put us on the back foot, but the will not to give in that was shown by the players was brilliant,” Alexander said.

“A point is the least we deserved in terms of how we played. Before (the sending off) we’d shown quality in ridiculous conditions and our movement and passing was excellent.

“Crewe are a good side but we got into some great areas with our wing-backs and we were on the front foot.

“It was a tough task to come here, but we put in a good performance. The red card was harsh – Alex says he didn’t mean to make the tackle or kick the ball to his (Bogle’s) head, but it opened an opportunity for the decision to be made.

“I thought the challenge on Jay Benn for Crewe’s goal was off the ball and merited a red card. But the lads responded to the difficulties of going down to 10 men superbly.”

Bradford profited from the windy conditions in the first half and could have led at the interval.

But Bobby Pointon blew a first-minute chance when he fired straight at goalkeeper Filip Marschall after being sent clear by Lewis Richards. Later in the half, Calum Kavanagh cracked an effort onto a post after Pointon cut the ball back from the byline.

Crewe had struggled to impose themselves, but Bogle squeezed a finish into an empty net at the far post after Ryan Cooney’s long throw was flicked on by Jack Lankester. Pattison rifled in an equaliser within minutes after Benn crossed low from the right.

But despite their numerical advantage, Crewe struggled to carve out any clear openings and had to settle for a third consecutive 1-1 draw.

Boss Lee Bell said: “Bradford were better than us in the first half and handled the conditions much better. I just think we never got going and I’m frustrated and annoyed with that performance.

“We had a little change of formation for the second half, but after Omar tucked the ball away at the back post we failed to get any momentum.

“We let them back into the game and I thought if I’d stuck with the players on the pitch at that point we’d be under some pressure, as we just couldn’t get it together.

“The players gave enough effort, but there were too many wayward passes and the referee didn’t help for both teams with mistakes all over the place, which caused frustrations for players and fans.

“Yes, the conditions didn’t help us very much, but I’ve let the players know we’ve got to be much better than that.”