Angry Evans unhappy with Town’s Alexander

An altercation between members of both benches, including Fleetwood managerial duo Alexander and Chris Lucketti and Millers’ No 2 Paul Raynor, briefly broke out following the final whistle of the hosts’ 2-1 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy northern area semi-final, with Evans angered by Alexander’s conduct.

In response, Alexander yesterday said that he did not wish to get involved in what he considers to be a ‘schoolboy spat’, while stating that he believes the Millers manager was attempting to distract attention away from the result on the night.

Evans, left to contemplate a second cup exit in four days against a League Two side, said: “The manager (Alexander) was out of order.

“I praised him for his team’s performance and with their conduct on the bench, if it was Steve Evans and his staff, I have no doubt there would have been action taken.

“But the fourth official said he had seen it and he will be reporting it.

“When you shake hands with someone and wish them good luck, that should be the end of it.”

Alexander responded: “I’m not going to get drawn into some schoolboy spat which is obviously an effort to distract the attention away from the result and the performance of my players.

“They were fantastic in what was a hard-fought game against a very good team, from a league above us and with Premier League players in their ranks.

“I would like to thank the gracious Steve Evans for being such a worthy opponent and I wish his team all the best for the season.”

In the final analysis, a triple whammy of a costly error from custodian Adam Collin, inspired goalkeeping at the other end from Scott Davies and wasteful finishing was the resaon behing the Millers’ demise.

There was no hiding place for Collin after Jeff Hughes’s 15th-minute strike squirmed under his legs and Evans also felt he could have done better with Conor McLaughlin’s searing long-ranger on 70 minutes.

But despite both concessions, Evans, while acknowledging Collin’s fateful part in Tuesday’s proceedings, refused to hang him out to dry.

He said: “From his point of view, it couldn’t have got any worse. He knows it, his head will be down, but it’s my job to lift him.

“He had a bad night, but he has helped put us in the top six. So while I can be critical of him in the Fleetwood game, I certainly can’t be of him as a goalkeeper.”