'Devastated' Graham Alexander cannot hide pain as Bradford City miss out on Wembley

The Bantams put on an excellent performance expect in the area that matters most – namely putting the ball out of the net.

With no extra-time in the game, it was heading for a penalty shoot-out when Wycombe substitute Matt Butcher scored the only goal of the game – and his first for the club he joined in January – in stoppage time.

"It's a cruel sport sometimes and none crueller than conceding a last-minute winner when you've been so on top in a cup semi-final," reflected Graham Alexander, who led Salford City to the Covdi-19-delayed 2019-20 final, only to be sacked before it was belatedly played.

"It's a devastating blow for us because it only gave us a couple of minutes (to equalise).

"I still thought we were going to get something because of the way the players were. Even after conceding we immediately carried on what we were doing and that was full-throttle attack.

"We certainly deserved better than we got but that's sometimes how football goes."

Andy Cook was suspended after being sent off in the quarter -final and fellow centre-forward Jake Young was injured. Even with the tournament's top scorer, Tyler Smith, leading the line, it was costly.

"It's hurt us in some previous games – certainly not the last two or three," reflected Alexander. “You've got to give the Wycombe defenders and certainly the goalkeeper (Max Stryjek) a lot of credit because they made a couple of really good blocks and there were a couple of fantastic saves. There were a couple of others where I felt we could have been more clinical but that would be picking little bits out of a performance that was really top notch.

"I was really proud of the players and the team and I'm devastated for them because it's a fantastic thing to have the opportunity to play in a Wembley cup final, or to watch your team in one."

Bradford are at Barrow in League Two on Saturday.