Bradford City should have won, but I was pleased to see them fight back to take a point at Rotherham United, says Graham Alexander
Even though he felt Bradford City should have won, Graham Alexander praised his players for not being thrown by going 2-0 to Rotherham United at the New York Stadium.
On the overall pattern of the game, Bradford probably deserved better than a 2-2, but when they fell behind to two well-crafted goals for Denzel Hall and Martin Sherif, it became a test of their character.
They rose to it, scoring through Antoni Sarcevic and Alex Pattison.
"From where we were at 2-0 down to take the point is obviously pleasing from our perspective," said Alexander.
"To find ourselves 2-0 down is a frustration for us I think it was a game we could have easily been in the lead before they scored their goal.
"I think the game was bitty. I don't think we were courageous enough in possession in the first half, to be honest, to get our patterns of play going. It played into their hands a little bit.
"They're a team that's been struggling, I thought we needed to show why we were where we were (top of League One). We didn't really do that.
"I think the goals punctured that. I'm delighted with the players because they kept going.
"On chances, we should have won the game. It was a difficult game for many different aspects.
"It's the nature of the game thar goals do change momentum. If you miss two chances, you can be a little bit down. The opposition go, 'It might be our night because they've missed these two chances.'
"The thing is, we've got to dispel all those things. Regardless of what's happening, just think of the next action, the next opportunity.
"For the next spell of the game we have to make sure we stay in it and make sure we're creating chances. We've created more than enough chances to win two games."
Pattison scored minutes after missing an even better chance to equalise when played through by substitute Andy Cook.
"That's what the game's about," said Alexander. "That's what life's about.
"It's like, keep going, putting yourself on the block, keep turning up, keep showing up and you get your rewards. I think you're guaranteed to fail if you don't try.
"Swanny (Will Swan), even missing those two chances (at 0-0), he's got nothing to be ashamed of. He's scored six goals for us all this season. Already this season, he's been superb. He's getting those opportunities.
"He had a part to play in the first goal that got us back into the game, got in behind them, held it up for Josh (Nefuville), (who) put a great ball in for Sarce (Sarcevic, to chest in).
"You can always contribute to positive things if you keep going and the players have a great habit of doing that."