MARK Trueman reckons the result was all that mattered after City ground out a 1-0 win against 10-man Grimsby.

Anthony O’Connor scored the only goal just before half-time but the Bantams could not take advantage when Mariners striker Stefan Payne was sent off at the break for head-butting team-mate Filipe Morais.

Trueman was frustrated City did not press on with the extra man – but happy with the victory that cut the gap to the last play-off spot to three points.

He said: “Grimsby were eight unbeaten and we had to find a way to win and we did that. That was the most important thing.

“You ask me if I want the complete performance and lose or fight it out and get the 1-0 win, I’ll take the 1-0 win at this time of the season.

“It’s all to play for. We didn’t want the season to fizzle out.

“We’ve got ourselves in position now but it’s not in our hands. Other teams have got to win and lose games.

“All we can do is keep winning football matches and see where we end up.

“We’re mathematically clear which is a positive but we’ve got to look at the goal in front of us now which is obviously to fight for one of those play-off spots.”

Payne and Morais clashed after the former Bantam played a poor pass at the end of the first half. The heated argument quickly escalated as striker Payne put his head into his team-mate.

Trueman added: “I heard the two players having a little bit of a moan as soon as the whistle went.

“I turned round to walk down the tunnel and then I was told by a couple of our players about the head-butt and he was going to be sent off.

“Grimsby are fighting for their lives and emotions are running high. Unfortunately, he’s not kept his emotion in check and it’s affected his team.

“It was important for us that we stayed focused after that. People think you just go and win the game automatically.

“But you see it all the time. When teams go down to 10 men it’s often a harder game.

“They get men behind the ball and become hard to beat. If the sending off doesn’t happen, I think Grimsby would have been a little more open.

“If we got the next goal, it was game over but at 1-0 you always give them a chance.

“We were disappointed when Woody (Connor Wood) hit the crossbar because that was probably our biggest chance.

“We’ve got to learn from this, especially with how we manage it when teams go down to 10.”

Grimsby boss Paul Hurst was fuming at Payne and Morais – who was substituted and did not appear for the second half.

Hurst said: “It’s something you can’t defend. The two players have let the club down, their team-mates down and the fans down.

“We’ll be taking action. It will remain private but will not be swept under the carpet.

“He’s got a three-match ban but I’ve got some thinking to do about whether he appears again for us this season.”