Duke’s dismissal was harsh, says replaced Wells

The 22-year-old Bermudian international was hauled off by manager Phil Parkinson on 58 minutes because the Bradford boss needed to get his replacement goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin on the pitch.

Duke had been sent off for a professional foul on Jonathan De Guzman and, while disappointed, Wells understood.

“It’s football and I’m not going to disrespect the manager’s decision,” he said.

“I’m gutted because I felt I could have played 90 minutes.

“I thought it was a bit harsh, the red card, he (referee Kevin Friend) could easily have given the yellow card, and obviously I had to suffer the effects.”

In the near-hour he was on the pitch, Wembley did not see the best of Wells.

He was not able to terrorise Swansea as he had Aston Villa, particularly in the first leg of the semi-final when he slotted home the opening goal of the tie.

None of Bradford’s players was able to show what they could do against a sublime Swansea team.

Wells said: “It’s upsetting to come to Wembley and lose 5-0, but there’s a lot of positives. We made history.

“Okay, our best wasn’t good enough, but we are going to continue to strive to come back in a few weeks hopefully with a promotion on the line.

“We were praying that we could break the deadlock and get the first goal after the break, but we knew if they got it that it would be a tough one.

“If we had to push the ball then it would be tough because they keep the ball so well. They scored at a crucial time to make it 2-0 and that probably put it out of our reach.

“At 3-0 the game was up. We couldn’t get on the ball, we couldn’t keep it enough and they just drained all our energy by keeping possession.”

For Wells and Bradford, the task now is picking themselves up and going again in the race for promotion from League Two, starting on Wednesday night against Dagenham.

“Having lost we want to go out and put that behind us quickly by showing what a good side we are,” he said.

“In football you want to put setbacks behind you quickly.

“We’re now setting our sights on coming back to Wembley.”