Graham Alexander hailed his Bradford City side’s professionalism as they put themselves into the League Two play-off spots.
The Bantams sealed a 2-0 win over Tranmere Rovers through the ever-imperious Andy Cook, with his brace now putting him at the top of the fourth tier’s scoring charts with nearly a quarter of the season gone. In a game where Nigel Adkins’ side were in charge for much of the contest, it was the visitors who found a clinical edge to boost them into seventh place and just three points off leaders Port Vale.
Bradford found themselves back in their injury crisis in defence even before the kick-off, with Neill Byrne forced to drop out, with Brad Halliday filling in at centre-back. Those woes were compounded when on-loan Barnsley defender Jack Shepherd was taken off with a dead leg and saw left-back Lewis Richards come into the back three to support Cheick Diabate.
Discussing the issue with Byrne, former Salford City boss Alexander said (Quotes via Yorkshire Post): “I got a call this morning saying that Byrner had woken up feeling ill and couldn’t keep anything down.
“He came to the hotel and wanted to try and have a pre-match (meal). But he had a banana and was immediately sick. He wanted to give it a go in the warm-up with how he felt but he was back in within five minutes.
“We’d already teed Brad up to potentially play there in the pre-match meeting. So he was prepared for that.
“How Brad trains, he was ready physically and mentally to come into the team at the drop of a hat. I thought he was magnificent today in a position that I doubt he’s played many games.
“Cheick went into the middle (of the back three) where he hasn’t played for us and he was excellent. There were some really strong performances in a really strong professional performance.”
It was a strong defensive display despite the makeshift nature of the backline, with just two of Tranmere’s 13 shots ending up on target and were dealt with by Sam Walker. The latter stages also saw the introduction of Paul Huntington, who signed as a free agent last week, alongside Corry Evans to make their debuts for the Yorkshire side.
Andy Cook continued to be his dominant self, scoring in each half to take the outright lead in the race for the Golden Boot ahead of Bromley‘s Michael Cheek. The top scorer from two seasons ago has already scored nine times in 14 matches across all competitions this season and is nearly halfway to surpassing last season’s total of 19.
Alexander was full of praise for his target man, adding: “Cooky’s job is scoring goals and he’s very good at that. But there are other players in the team who are just as good as their jobs but they’re not the headline-grabbers.
“But if we can get him into the right areas and give him the right ammunition, as Kav (Callum Kavanagh) did for the second goal, then we know he’s a cool finisher.
“I’m delighted with the stuff he does for us off the ball as well and how he tries to understand what the team needs.
“Scoring goals is the most important for him as a No 9 but there are other things he has to do for the team. That gives me as much enjoyment as the rest.”
City welcome Gillingham to Valley Parade next weekend, with Mark Bonner’s side facing defeat against Accrington Stanley yesterday with the winner grabbed by former Bantam Dara Costelloe. The Kent club have now lost four of their last five matches, and have failed to beat Bradford in their last five meetings.
Writer’s View
Bradford City have shown calmness with Graham Alexander and that will surely benefit them down the road. Mark Hughes, who lifted them to a play-off appearance, had already been sacked at this point last season and there was a moment when the fanbase began to turn on the former MK Dons man a few weeks ago. They have stuck with their man and have now reaped the rewards with back-to-back wins against Newport County and now Tranmere Rovers. City are right in the mix with the promotion places and based on last season’s terrific run which saw them narrowly miss out on the top seven, are more than capable of finishing there this time around.
Paul Huntington may find himself put into action immediately with Neill Byrne coming down with an illness. Jack Shepherd will surely recover from his dead leg so the former Carlisle United man may find himself thrust into a first league start against Gillingham alongside him and Cheick Diabate. His wealth of experience at Preston North End will suit him well but at 37, there will be questions if he can still perform at the same level. He did look a solid choice in Cumbria though, so is undoubtedly a good squad option nevertheless.
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