Glass half full for Alexandra says Steve
CREWE boss Steve Davis insisted he was happy with a point, despite twice throwing the lead away in a six-goal thriller with Bradford.
The Railwaymen are just two points clear of the League One relegation zone, but Davis believes their 3-3 draw was perhaps the right result, claiming he would have taken a point before the clash.
“We’ve got to be happy with a point; Bradford are an excellent side and they’re very tough to beat on their own patch. They have got some fresh players in their squad and we were wary of the challenge we faced,” Davis said.
“They kept coming at us throughout the game and we weren’t really ready for how well they started that second-half.
“We totally deserved that lead at half-time, but we just got caught cold at the beginning of the second.
“To come here and get a point is a good result; given how we were in the lead twice it’s a little disappointing but I’d have taken this at the start of the game.”
The only real action of the first-half came via the visitors, and they led at the break when Uche Ikpeazu struck from close range to fire Crewe into a lead at the break.
Despite a strong start from the Bantams in the second period, they were caught cold when Ikpeazu pounced for his second to leave the home crowd stunned.
However, Bradford rallied, and two goals in three minutes brought matters level, as James Hanson’s composed finish was followed up by a superb strike from Gary Jones.
Crewe were again to stun the Bradford crowd though, as Mathias Pogba drilled home to fire Crewe back into the lead.
However, Bradford’s captain dragged them out of the mire once more, firing home from long range to earn the Bantams a precious draw. They remain entrenched in mid-table, with boss Phil Parkinson lauding the performance of his captain Jones as they rescued a point.
“For a guy who is 36, playing on a pitch as heavy as that in those conditions it is absolutely remarkable how he manages to do it,” Parkinson said.
“He was inspirational and deserves every accolade he gets. He typifies what we’re all about, but he trains so hard and lives his life well – he’s a shining example to our younger players and is a marvellous captain.
“We played like we can play in the second-half, and it was a great example of how we can mix things up. In the first-half we weren’t quite at the races and we got punished for that.”