Spireites undone by Morsy red card
CHESTERFIELD boss Paul Cook could not hide his disappointment with stand-in skipper Sam Morsy after the midfielder’s dismissal cost the Spireites at home to Bradford.
The 23-year-old was given a straight red just after the interval for a blatant elbow on Bradford’s Andy Halliday, before Billy Clarke’s wonderstrike soon after gave Bradford their fifth win in six games.
Cook was quick to criticise Morsy after the game for letting his teammates down, despite feeling the dismissal was on the harsh side.
“If Sammy Morsy has caught him, he’ll be punished very, very heavily,” he said.
“But it’s one of the things he must learn. He can’t let us down like that. He’s captaining the side and was possibly the best player on the pitch at that time.
“My view was that there was a genuine foul for us right before the sending off, and it was handball before Clarke scored the goal.
“I think there were continually decisions by the referee that were baffling today. It disappoints me when you play teams that are streetwise like Bradford. You need a little bit of help from the referee and we didn’t get it.
“But the lads were magnificent even when we went down to ten men, and we’ve been done by a wonder-strike in the second half.”
Chesterfield were on the back foot early on with Bradford’s Andrew Davies and Jon Stead both coming close inside five minutes.
Bantams keeper Jordan Pickford then had to be alert to hold Jimmy Ryan’s 25th minute shot, before Andy Halliday and Mark Yeates both shot wide.
Morsy’s sending off came two minutes after the restart, and the Bantams took full advantage.
Clarke, celebrating his 27th birthday, picked up the ball 25-yards out before unleashing an unstoppable winner into the top corner.
Bradford should have doubled their lead on 62 minutes when Stead hit the post from six yards.
Pickford produced a great save to deny Jay O’Shea, but Bradford held on to the delight of boss Phil Parkinson. “It was a moment of pure quality from Billy,” he said.“We know he’s always capable of that. It’s a big goal for us because this is a hard place to come and get a result.
“Against ten men, it’s never easy and sat back a little bit. It wasn’t until the end that we got it going again.
“I thought it was a disgraceful elbow from Morsy. He’s flung his elbow right at him.
“The fans around me thought it was unjust, but Andy Halliday’s got a swollen face and it is the kind of elbow that can break somebody’s cheekbone.”