CONNOLLY WINS BOWYER PRAISE
GARY Bowyer praised winger Dylan Connolly as his Bradford side came from behind to comprehensively beat Carlisle at Valley Parade
The Bradford manager, whose father Ian Bowyer was twice a European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest is delighted with the pacey Connolly, who joined Bradford on loan from Wimthe bledon on transfer deadline day.
He said: “I am old fashioned and I grew up watching the greatest winger in John Robertson. Dylan is growing in confidence every game, every minute he gets to play. He was a constant threat straight away, but he knows he needs to do better with his end product and he wants to score.
“We had a setback when we lost to a good Cheltenham side in midweek, but we got on the front foot straightway today and played with spirit, fight and passion throughout the 90 minutes against a good Carlisle team.”
It was a full blooded contest that saw both sides end the match with ten men.
Carlisle’s Jack Bridge was sent off in the 33rd minute for two yellow cards and Bradford defender Ben Richards-Everton was dismissed in the 62nd minute for a reckless challenge on Jack Iredale.
Carlisle, who were looking for their third consecutive away win, went ahead in the 13th minute when Iredale cut in from the left before supplying a through pass for Olufela Olomola to score with a low shot across the face of the goal which went crept into the net off the far post.
Bradford hit back to equalise in the 30th minute through Harry Pritchard who had seen keeper Adam Collin keep out a low, goal-bound shot two minutes earlier. The visitors’ defence failed to clear Kelvin Mellor’s right wing cross and Pritchard scored with a low left foot shot into the far corner of the net.
Bradford took the lead in the 40th minute when Mellor scored from close range following a free kick from Matt Palmer.
The home side had the ball in the net five minutes after interval, but the effort was ruled out for handball and both side had narrow escapes in an eventful second half before substitute Zeli Ismail put the result beyond doubt with Bradford’s third from close range after Clayton Donaldson created the chance.
Carlisle manager Steven Pressley said: “In the first 30 minutes or so we played our best football of the season.
“Then we lost a goal which was disappointing and to lose Jack Bridge was frustrating. Then we lost another goal from a set play and we cannot continue to do that. The defenders have got to take responsibility. Attacking and defending set plays in League Two is crucial.”