Bradford boss Graham Alexander pleased as Bantams banish away day blues

Bradford boss Graham Alexander was pleased with his side’s endeavour in their 2-1 victory over Blackpool.

Aden Baldwin and Will Swan got their names on the scoresheet, either side of an Ashley Fletcher equaliser, as the Bantams bounced back from their 3-0 defeat at Mansfield on New Year’s Day.

Alexander was delighted with how the West Yorkshire outfit performed, as they recorded just a second away win since September to remain third in League One.

“We let ourselves down a couple of days ago against Mansfield, we didn’t play – apart from the first 20 minutes, but once we conceded a goal the game went away from us,” he said.

“We learnt quickly, as we always do. We need to keep our focus, especially away from home. We’re really good at home. If anything goes against us, then we’re still on track. But away in the last couple of games, we’ve let ourselves down.

“Our performance in the first half was one of the best from our team away from home, and we deserved to have the lead – and we could’ve extended it.

“In the second half, they scored, but our focus and discipline stayed the same, and that allowed us to stay in the game and not allow the opponent to get the upper hand with the crowd behind them.

“After the second goal, we were pretty comfortable for the rest of the game. The effort they put in against Mansfield was through the roof, and they’ve done it again.”

Ian Evatt admitted Blackpool needed to do certain basics better, but also flagged their mitigating circumstances.

James Husband was among the players missing for the Seasiders, with an appeal against his New Year’s Day red card proving unsuccessful.

“In football, a lot can change really quickly, and since we felt it was an injustice on Thursday, things have sort of spiralled,” Evatt said.

“There’s injuries, suspension, tiredness – a lot of things have seemingly gone against us, but we’ve got to focus on the things we can control, and the two goals we conceded are not acceptable.

“It’s another set play, we can’t afford to keep giving the opposition goals from set plays. We’re working on them, but it’s a mindset and an attitude – we have to do better.

“There’s nothing in the game, and we get ourselves back in it, and then it’s a really awful goal to concede, which leaves us chasing again.

“There’s context to the last game-and-a-half, we know that. I’m frustrated, I’m annoyed – we’ve got to do better.

“That’s the basics to win at this level. Bradford are at the top of the league and do the basics really well. There’s nothing fancy in the way they play, it’s just basic set plays. We have to get better at that.”