GRAHAM Alexander was “devastated” for his City players after their last-gasp loss to Wycombe in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy semi-finals.

Sub Matt Butcher’s added-time goal broke home hearts at Valley Parade in a game that the Bantams had dominated.

“It’s a cruel sport sometimes and there’s nothing crueller than conceding a last-minute winner when you’ve been so on top in a cup semi-final,” admitted Alexander. “It was a devastating blow for us.

“We certainly deserve better than what we got but that’s sometimes how football goes.”

City, missing the suspended Andy Cook, created a string of chances against the League One side. But they could not find a way past Wycombe keeper Max Stryjek.

READ MORE: Match report as added-time agony is so hard to take

Alexander added: “I know it’s something that has hurt us in previous games, certainly not in the last two or three.

“But you’ve got to give the Wycombe defenders and goalkeeper a lot of credit because they made a couple of really good blocks and some fantastic saves.

“There were a couple of others where I felt we could have been a bit more clinical. But that would be picking little bits out of a performance that was absolutely top-notch.

“I was really proud of the players and I’m devastated for them.

“It’s a fantastic thing to have the opportunity to play in a Wembley cup final, either to watch your team or to play in it. Unfortunately, it’s been snatched away from us in the last minute.”

The tie looked to be heading for a penalty shoot-out when Butcher’s shot took a deflection off Jon Tomkinson’s leg to beat Colin Doyle. It was only Wycombe’s second effort on target.

Alexander was already thinking about who would take City’s spot-kicks when the visitors struck against the run of play.

“It just got to the point where we were having so many opportunities but something would happen to stop us.

“I didn’t see them scoring. I didn’t think they had any pressure around our goal.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Graham Alexander was proud of City's display against WycombeGraham Alexander was proud of City's display against Wycombe (Image: Thomas Gadd)

“Even the goal, it’s come off JT’s leg and deflected into the bottom corner. Sometimes it might be written in the stars you’re not going to get the break you need.

“But I can’t feel any prouder of how my team played and how good it was to be inside Valley Parade.”

Alexander suffered another injury blow to a growing list when Ciaran Kelly was forced off at the start of the second half. He was struggling after taking a knee in the rib when jumping for a header.

 

 

Jake Young was again not in the squad – with the City boss hinting that his problem could potentially be more serious.

“He’s picked up an injury and we just want to make sure we speak correctly when we get the full extent of it.

“I’ll have news maybe at the weekend with that. At the moment, we’re just struggling a bit with injuries, not just Jake but with a couple of players and obviously we’ve picked up another one.

“It seems we’re losing a player every three days. We’ve just got to look after the rest of them to make sure we’re competitive and try and repeat that sort of performance on Saturday.”