Holloway: Fans played a huge part in fightback

By Alan Graham

SWINDON TOWN 5

Byrne 22 og, Tshimanga 45+4, Smith 62, 90, Shepherd 90+5 og

SWINDON: Ripley 6, Clarke 6 (Westley 45, 6), Wright 7, Freckleton 6, Cotterill 7, Kilkenny 7 (Butterworth 45, 7), Nichols 7 (Cox 75, 7), Kirkman6 (Ameen 28, 8), Glatzel 6 (Ofoborh 76, 7), Tshimanga 7, Smith 9. Subs not used: Bycroft, Sobowale.

BRADFORD CITY 4

Kavanagh 6, 10, 35, Halliday 77

BRADFORD: S.Walker 7, Byrne 6, Shepherd 5, Crichlow-Noble 6 (Wright 90+7), Halliday 9, Smallwood 5, Pattison 7 (Johnson 45, 6), Adaramola 6 (Mellon 90+7), Khela 7 (Sarcevic 74, 6), Pointon 6 (Kelly 45, 6), Kavanagh 9. Subs not used: Hilton, J.Walker.

Att: 8,051 Rating: ★★★★★ Ref: Thomas Kirk 6/10

IAN HOLLOWAY heaped praise on Swindon fans for roaring his team to an unlikely comeback win against ten-man Bradford.

Calum Kavanagh grabbed a hat-trick inside 35 minutes, but two own goals saw City throw the game away.

Holloway said: “The supporters made me proud. No-one moaned when we were two down with a terrible start like that.

“And that’s a difference that allowed me to do things, that allowed the lads to not go too deep and and then believe we could score.

“The lads have earned that, but the fans still had to do it, and that was massive to them.

“We let two goals in against tenmen,which is normally a no-go for us managers, but we’ve ended up winning and kept our good run going.”

City went ahead after only six minutes when Kavanagh jabbed home from Brad Halliday’s long throw.

The Bantams doubled their lead four minutes later when Kavanagh poked home after the ball fell into his path from a muddle at the back.

But City’s Richie Smallwood’s vicious lunge on Paul Glatzel saw the defender get a straight red in the 14th minute.

Town made the most of it when Billy Kirkman drove into the box and his low centre was touched in by hapless defender Neill Byrne.

But they restored the two-goal cushion when Town again failed to clear another Halliday long throw and Kavanagh sneaked in to compete his hat-trick.

And Town pulled a goal back just before the break when Kabongo Tshimanga slid in at the far post.

Harry Smith levelled with an emphatic finish in the 62nd minute, before Halliday slotted home a rebound.

But Smith equalised again with a far post header before Jack Shepherd’s botched clearance went into his own net to hand Swindon the win. Bantams boss Graham Alexander, who got a card after a bench bust-up following Smallwood’s sending off, said: “I’m just really gutted for the players and the supporters that we didn’t win that game, when we should have won.

“Two-nil up, you know what we’re like when we’re in that position, our record is phenomenal. But it’s gone against us.

“The spirit and the commitment of players – even when it went to 3-3with ten men – other teams, I think would have buckled at that point but no, we go up the other end and we score another goal.”