Crewe v Bradford City: Mark Hughes issues rallying call to take promotion race to the wire

There are no more ifs, buts and maybes, the Bantams simply have to perform at Crewe Alexandra and set themselves up to bring their most powerful weapon - Valley Parade - into play on Monday.

Fortunately, manager Mark Hughes says his squad's morale and energy "is as high as it's been all season".

Snow, FA Cup draws for others and even Crewe's international call-ups in March mean Bradford have been playing catch-up since mid-winter, always lurking, always threatening but having to wait to pounce.

On Wednesday City and Crewe become the last teams in the division to play their penultimate game of the campaign.

Its only significance for the Railwaymen is that it is their final home match of 2022-23, but for Bradford it is huge. Win, and they take their outside chance of automatic promotion to the final day, lose and Mansfield Town could yet pip them to the play-offs. Only a draw will turn Monday's visit of Leyton Orient into a dead rubber.

Bradford's job, then, is to make Northampton Town and Stockport County feel the heat by drawing level on points with the latter and breathing down the necks of the former.

Their chances were helped not only by winning at Northampton on Saturday, but the manner of it, Romoney Crichlow scoring a winner in the fifth minute.

It came on the back of a second-half when the Cobblers put Bradford under real pressure, and a midweek fixture where the Bantams dropped two points to an even later Gillingham equaliser.

"It was great for us in terms of confidence and morale going into the two games we've got left, it's going to be fantastic," said Hughes.

"If we can get the job done on Wednesday, what scenes there will be at Valley parade on the Monday. We've just got to set it up for that game and the fans will get us over the line.

"We knew they had to do something different in the second half because they weren't really affecting us in the first half. They went a bit more direct, a bit more forceful in their running.

"A little bif of momentum went their way and we had to withstand that but it's all about recognising when momentum changes and we did to a certain extent.

"We just had to wait for it to turn the other way and it did in the end and we were able to get the opportunity to put a fantastic ball in the box and it was great to see it hit the back of the net, especially at the end where all our fans were."

Having put so much pressure on themselves and the division's most high-profile manager to win automatic promotion this season, Bradford know they cannot afford to waste this opportunity.

"We've put ourselves in this position now, we've got to step up again," said Hughes.

"The morale in the camp and the energy in the group is as high as it's been all season so that's fantastic going into the last two games."

Top-scorer Andy Cook - nominated for April's League Two player of the month alongside Harrogate Town's Luke Armstrong, Newport County's Omar Bogle and Stockport County defender Chris Hussey - says the late goals for and against last week show the character in the side and that anything is possible on the last day if Bradford can take it there.

"Everyone knows what's at stake so we just want to get the win.

"It happened to us in the last minute last week, then we did it to Northampton so you never know what can happen in football. We conceded in the last minute at home to Gilingham but we didn't lose, and that was a little bit of a positive.

"At the end of the game it did feel like a defeat but it wasn't and we just worked on doing what we had to do. We just had to keep our hats in there and see what happens."

City appeared to come through Saturday's game unscathed but Thierry Nevers' place will be under threat from Dara Costelloe after a disappointing display at Sixsfields.

Victory will put Bradford fifth going into Monday's final day, comfortably behind Stockport on goal difference. But they will be only two points behind third-placed Northampton with a better goal difference.

The Cobblers were third last year, only to miss out on goal difference to Bristol Rovers on a dramatic final day.

Last six games: Crewe Alexandra WLLWLW; Bradford City WDLWWD.

Referee: A Herczeg (County Durham).

Last time: Crewe Alexandra 2, Bradford City 1, August 31, 2019, League Two.