Town boss warns Bantams the tie isn't over

Fleetwood Town head coach Uwe Rosler dubbed Bradford City's 1-0 win a '˜dangerous' result for the Bantams ahead of tomorrow's play-off semi-final decider.
Town head coach Uwe RoslerTown head coach Uwe Rosler
Town head coach Uwe Rosler

Town’s boss maintained Fleetwood would have needed to win their home clash even if they had drawn at Valley Parade on Thursday.

He said: “I am happy that we are going back to Highbury and we are in the tie. A 0-0 and a 1-1 could have been possible but we need to win the game anyway.

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“A 1-0 is not a fantastic result, it is a good result; they are in a better position than us.

“I said to my players I would not be too angry if it goes to 120 minutes because I know the longer the game goes the better we get.

“We are still in the tie; if we got a draw here we needed to win the home game anyway; 1-0 is a dangerous result.”

He was less happy, though, with the fixture scheduling as, in Rosler’s opinion, the advantage has been taken away from Town, who finished the season fourth in League One, and Scunthorpe United, who were third.

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The two teams had to travel to fifth-placed Bradford and sixth-placed Millwall before returning with a two-day gap between the two legs.

Bradford and Millwall only have to make the one trip, a scenario that could impact on Fleetwood and Scunthorpe’s recovery ahead of their 6.30pm home ties.

Rosler said: “The one thing from the Football League that is absolutely ridiculous, third place and fourth place should be having an advantage.

“These two teams have to travel twice and the teams who travel on Sunday, they only have to travel once.

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“After that they have two weeks to prepare for a possible Wembley game. That is ridiculous, non-football people making football decisions.

“For us, it is the team who recover quicker who put themselves in a better position. The third and the fourth place should have the advantage in the play-offs and the advantage is with Millwall and Bradford because we have to travel twice.”

Rosler had brought in Markus Schwabl and Devante Cole for George Glendon and Ash Hunter due to their performances in Town’s 2-1 win over the Bantams in February.

Nathan Pond also came in for Cian Bolger, who wasn’t fit enough to feature after an ankle knock on the final day.

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However, Schwabl only played the first 45 minutes; a decision Rosler explained.

He said: “Markus was on yellow; he got booked after the fifth foul and I think the next one, he (the referee) would have sent him off.

“He was very professional and clever to get into half-time; second half suited Glenno because the game got slower and Glendon did really well when he came on.”