Bradford City 0 Tranmere Rovers 1: Parkinson and Moore clash after shock loss for City

A TOUCHLINE bust-up that saw rival managers Phil Parkinson and Ronnie Moore having to be pulled apart at the final whistle neatly summed up a fractious and frustrating afternoon for Bradford City as their unbeaten home record came to an unexpected end.
Phil Parkinson confronts Tranmere Manager Ronnie Moore at the final whistlePhil Parkinson confronts Tranmere Manager Ronnie Moore at the final whistle
Phil Parkinson confronts Tranmere Manager Ronnie Moore at the final whistle

A second-half strike by Ryan Lowe was enough to settle a dour contest in the favour of Tranmere Rovers, who had gone into the weekend propping up the League One table.

However, the former Sheffield Wednesday striker’s opportunistic 68th-minute winner was far from the major talking point in a contest that saw tempers fray and controversy abound.

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Instead, the failure of referee Darren Drysdale to clamp down on what Bradford perceived to be blatant time-wasting by the visitors, Rovers defender Ian Goodison escaping with a yellow card for an ugly challenge on Kyel Reid, and the post-match spat between the two managers dominated the post-match debate as the 14,674 crowd made their way home.

City manager Parkinson was certainly in no mood to mince his words after seeing his side slip to defeat for the first time in the league since mid-August.

He said: “Tranmere came to slow the game down and will think they did a very professional performance.

“But I didn’t think the officials did enough to negate those tactics of slowing the game down. Tranmere’s intent was clear from that first whistle and it is the officials’ job to make sure the paying customer sees a game of football with some kind of flow.

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“I didn’t think the referee did that at all. He disagrees with me, as I have already asked him. He felt he did everything he could. But it was not enough for me.

“I think 14,000 people will have walked away feeling the same as me. The referee just didn’t see what was going on quickly enough or often enough. I thought it was a poor performance from the officials.”

For Moore, long since established as a pantomime villain figure at Valley Parade after making strong comments about City during their first stint in administration early in the new Millennium, victory was particularly sweet.

After revealing his pride at Tranmere’s hard-working performance, the former Rotherham United boss gave his version of events as to what had sparked his spat with Parkinson. He said: “I had been taking dog’s abuse from the crowd so, at the end, I turned round to applaud them.

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“Phil told me, ‘Well done on the win, but don’t take the mick out of our crowd’. Who is he to tell me what to do? It looks as if he is getting carried away with promotion and Wembley last season.”

The seeds of the post-match contretemps between the two managers were sown during the first-half incident that saw Reid flattened by Goodison.

Parkinson was adamant that Tranmere’s Jamaican veteran, making his 400th appearance for the Birkenhead club, had elbowed the diminutive winger.

Incensed, the Bantams chief made that point forcibly to Goodison who responded in a similarly aggressive manner. As other members of the two benches quickly became involved in the pushing and shoving, order took some time to be restored.

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Drysdale, a referee best remembered in Bradford for once dismissing Dean Windass 30 minutes after a game in the Valley Parade car park for foul and abusive language when shouting through his own car window, further incensed Bradford by showing a yellow card to Goodison.

Predictably, the two managers once again had very different takes on the incident.

Parkinson said: “I went into see the officials and they said he hit him with his forearm. Well, in my book that is still a red card. I have now seen a replay and it is a clear red card.

“He (Drysdale) said he could have sent me to the stand for my reaction. But how does he expect me to react when a player in our technical area gets elbowed or forearm smashed by a 6ft 3ins
giant centre-half?

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“As soon as it happened, I was certain it would be a red card. Absolutely certain. Ninety nine times out of 100, it is a red card.”

Moore, meanwhile, vehemently disagreed with his Bradford counterpart. He said: “Goodison is upset about being booked.

“They were clearly trying to get him sent off. Their manager got involved when he should not have done.

“Ian wasn’t booked for the challenge on Reid, he was booked for pushing Parkinson.

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“But the referee got that one wrong as well because it was Parkinson who pushed Goodison.”

Goodison’s challenge on Reid and the ugly melee that followed came during a first half that, otherwise, had been short on incident.

Stephen Darby volleyed a shot over for Bradford, who also had a good appeal for a penalty turned down when Mark Yeates seemed to be impeded by Ash Taylor, and at the opposite end Jon McLaughlin had just one save of note to make when keeping out Chris Atkinson’a effort.

The second half was an improvement, though only marginally, with Bradford again failing to replicate the incisive attacking play that before yesterday had yielded 13 points from a possible 15 on home soil.

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Caleb Folan did go close at the finish with a header that Owain Fon Williams turned away, and Reid also tested Rovers’ goalkeeper with a stinging shot.

But, otherwise, Bradford’s play was largely one-dimensional with even the dangerous Reid becoming guilty of shooting on sight from distance when a team-mate was often better placed.

In the end, such an approach proved to be costly thanks to a fine predatory strike from Lowe, who after latching on to a through ball beat McLaughlin with a fiercely hit low shot to ensure Moore was by far the merrier of the two managers come the final whistle.