Gary Bowyer takes hat off to Burton players after win over Bradford

Burton head coach Gary Bowyer was proud of his team’s heart as the relegation-battlers completed a hard-fought 2-1 win over promotion-chasing Bradford in League One.

Albion had to see off a strong start from the fourth-placed Bantams, who failed to capitalise on good chances before Burton grabbed the lead just before half-time through Alex Hartridge.

Tyrese Shade got what proved to be the winner midway through the second half to complete an impressive league double over Bowyer’s former club.

“We asked them to go out there and be great,” Bowyer said.

“To go out and put in a performance like that today, I take my hat off to them.

“It’s an unbelievable effort against a team who are right up there.

“I was really pleased with how we weathered the early storm from them. We showed a lot of maturity, for a young group, to come through that and to then go and grab the goal.

“We said at half-time it was about their heart, their bravery and their brains and everybody put an unbelievable shift in.

“I am delighted for Alex. It’s a similar goal to his one at Wimbledon and it comes from a great delivery from George Evans.”

Shade had missed a big chance to make it 2-0 during Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat to Reading but Bowyer praised his leading scorer for keeping going.

Bowyer added: “Tyrese said on Tuesday that he cost us the game, in his words, but he kept going today and he took responsibility and produced a great finish.”

Bradford boss Graham Alexander felt “cheap moments” cost his team as the Bantams slipped to a seventh defeat in eight away games.

Tyreik Wright netted a stoppage-time goal that proved too little, too late in their search to at least take a point.

“It’s a hugely disappointing result for us,” Alexander said.

“We were the dominant team for the first 40 minutes and should have been two up. We defended really well against the pressure that they try and create but we give a cheap goal away as a result of maybe getting frustrated at not scoring.

“It is those cheap moments that has undermined our good play in the last four or five games.”

The Bantams were always in the game but were, again, left to rue a lack of clinical finishing.

Alexander added: “You can look at the data from the Reading, Wigan and Mansfield games as well as today. We have been the dominant team, more shots, better XG but we haven’t been clinical enough and too loose to allow the opposition to go and grab a goal and then do what they have to do to make it even more difficult.”