CITY’S first appearance in the EFL Trophy semi-finals can lift their spirits in the league, according to Chris Lucketti.

Harry Chapman’s free-kick saw off Doncaster at Valley Parade last night as the Bantams reached the last four of the competition for the first time.

Assistant boss Lucketti hopes that can provide a springboard to get their form going again in League Two after a run of seven games without a win.

“We’ve struggled for results, so we were delighted to get the win,” he said.

“When you get to this stage of a cup, regardless of who you’re playing, it’s never going to be an easy game.

“We’ve got a squad where players are pushing each other. The six or seven who came in performed to a really high standard.

“They set the bar for themselves and the team and it’s going to give us a nice selection problem for Saturday. There were some outstanding performances.

“Whenever you get that opportunity, you need to perform to keep the shirt.

“Obviously players want to win, we want to win, but we’ve struggled with results.

“We haven’t struggled with performances, apart from Saturday. That was really poor and something we wanted to get over quickly.

“Prior to that, performance levels have been high but we’ve been missing the final end product.

“But we’ve got Jake Young back now and hopefully Tyreik Wright will be ready in another week or two. Those lads will help us perform better in front of goal.”

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Andy Cook gets his marching orders from ref Will FinnieAndy Cook gets his marching orders from ref Will Finnie (Image: Thomas Gadd)

Lucketti took charge from the dug-out as City boss Graham Alexander served a one-match touchline ban in the stand.

“You get to this stage and you do look forward to the draw on Friday,” he added. “See who we get with anticipation.

“You can see what that’s going to mean to the team, to the club and to the supporters. We want to go as far as we can.

“We want that now to kick-start the league form.

“Whenever you represent Bradford City is an audition. You need to earn the right to keep your shirt and perform at a high standard because everybody expects to be successful and to win games here.”

The one black mark was a late red card for Andy Cook after two bookings for fouls in the space of a few minutes. He will now be banned for the semi-final.

“It’s a blow,” admitted Lucketti. “You want your big players in the team and available.”