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Joe On Defeat
Joe On Defeat
Saturday, 1st Feb 2003 23:55

Unsurprisingly Town manager Joe Royle felt that the Blues' game at Bradford changed when Hermann Hreidarsson was shown the red card in the 49th minute. Royle revealed that referee Clive Wilkes has agreed to look at a video of the Icelander's clash with Simon Francis.

The Town manager says his side were comfortable when the sides were equal: "The game hinged on the sending-off. There wasn't a problem when we had eleven men on the field.

"The referee Clive Wilkes is adamant that Hermann smacked Francis. Hermann is equally adamant that the lad was past him. I spoke to the referee, he is a nice man and an honest man. He will look at the video and hopefully the video will tell us the truth, but it is too late, the game is lost."

Royle was not pleased with his side's display: "I was disappointed with our performance. It was probably the sloppiest and least aggressive since I have been manager. We have got to get ourselves back in order for next week.

"For all our possession we didn't threaten their goalkeeper. We have got to look closely at our finishing.

"I am sure that we wouldn't have lost the game if we had had eleven men on the park, but whether we would have scored I don't know. We didn't have the players prepared to go into the box to score a goal."

Bradford boss Nicky Law was particularly pleased with young striker Danny Forrest: "It was an ideal opportunity for him and he made the most of it. He runs the channels well, he is a tough lad, he has got pace and his link-up play was excellent.

"He could have had three or possibly four goals, but at least he was there to miss and that is what a good goalscorer is all about.

"The goal he scored was a great finish and I am really pleased for him. He hasn't let anyone down."

"Under the circumstances with the team we had out I felt that if we could get to half-time with the score still 0-0 we were in with a chance.

"We defended magnificently up to half time. Ipswich are a quality side, they caused us problems and we had to change our shape to deal with that.

"I thought the players were magnificent. We have dug ourselves out of a massive great hole and our recent results have taken us a long way towards obtaining the 50 points we need.

"Claus Jorgensen has done ever so well for us. He scored one goal and he could have had another just before the end. He worked hard to get into the team and he has proved a few people wrong."

Law felt there was little doubt over Hermann Hreidarsson's red card: "There was another incident involving Hreidarsson and Uhlenbeek just before half-time. I am not saying whether that was deliberate or not. But I don't have a lot of argument about the second incident. He caught young Simon Francis in the face."


Photo: Action Images



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