Trouble erupts as fans clash after Bolton beat Bradford in the League One playoff semi final 1st leg on Saturday night.
Footage has surfaced online of what unfolded following the final whistle outside of the Toughsheet Community Stadium, a large police presence in attendance.
The game itself saw Amario Cozier-Duberry score the only goal of the game, and came close to doubling the scoreline after the woodwork was struck.
Bolton manager Steven Schumacher, speaking to BBC Radio Manchester:
“We’re glad to get ourselves in front, that was the objective in the tie, to be ahead going to Valley Parade, so overall I’m pleased.
“The goal was a real moment of quality from Amario, which we’ve seen him do so many times for us this year.
“We spoke at half-time about staying patient, and coming in from the right hand side because the way Bradford play the central areas get congested and it was hard to find space but he found a ball from the opposite winger and dispatched a great goal.
“We can’t complain, it was a tough game, glad to get another clean sheet but it’s only half-time. we’ve got another tough game in an intimidating atmosphere.
“We’ve had a good dress rehearsal at it, we know what to expect on Thursday, they have to come at us, they’re going to put us under pressure, we know that’s what Graham’s [Alexander] teams do but we’re going there trying to win the game.”
Schumacher to Sky Sports:
“We’re delighted, we knew how important it was to get ourselves ahead in the tie, we know how difficult of a place it is to go and play at Valley Parade, so, to get ourselves in front was great.
“I thought the game was tight as we expected it to be, two teams who went all out at it, a really competitive game and we’re delighted to come out of it on top.”
On Cozier-Duberry’s goal:
“It was a brilliant finish, all season for us Amario has produced moments of magic for us like that. We just said to him at half-time, the way Bradford played, he was coming inside a lot and the space kind of wasn’t there, so, we asked him just to be patient and hopefully we can get the ball to him in them dangerous areas. It was a nice move, he’s got that quality and we’re just glad to have him back fit and available.”
On not getting a second goal:
“A little disappointed. There was a huge chance when Amario [Cozier-Duberry] intercepted a pass and when he goes through like that we’ve seen him score from them positions. I thinks he’s done everything right. He’s hit it hard and low across the goalkeeper and unfortunately it’s hit the inside of the post and somehow it’s not managed to find its way in. So, it would have been nice to go there with a two-goal advantage but to go with any advantage is great.
“I thought our defensive work tonight was very good. Especially late on in the game when Bradford are putting loads of balls into the box, I thought we defended them really well and I thought we were really calm when they built moments of pressure and again we’re going to need that next week.”
On the the second leg at Valley Parade:
“It’s a huge challenge, we were there a couple of weeks ago and Valley Parade was sold out for their final home game of the season and it was a real good atmosphere.
“So, we’ve had a good dress rehearsal at it, we know what to expect on Thursday night, they have to come at us, they’re going to put us under pressure, we know that’s what Graham’s [Alexander] teams do. So, we have to make sure we deal with that. Show composure in those moments but also try and impose a threat ourselves. We’re going there trying to win the game.”
Bolton’s Eoin Toal said to Sky Sports, as per BBC Sport’s live blog:
“We played really well, we were really positive and probably could have taken a few more chances.
“Amario (Cozier-Duberry) has been a standout for us all season but it’s only half-time and we know it’ll be a tough game at Bradford so we’re looking forward to it.
“Hopefully we can get over the line this year, we’ve had some bad (play-off) defeats over the years but we’re feeling good this year and the changing room is looking forward to it.
“We’re going into the second game with a lot of confidence.”
Bradford City manager Graham Alexander told BBC Radio Leeds:
“It was a tough game and a game we expected, lots of possession from Bolton and we had to work hard with our defensive structure.
“We had some good moments and I feel we had the better chances to take the lead but to come away to Bolton and concede one shot on target, the goal, shows great discipline.
“We’re disappointed to be losing 1-0 in the tie because we wanted more than that but we’ve come from behind in many games, and we’ve got a full game to get back into it. We know what we create at home and it’s all to play for.
“The atmosphere was great or us to play in, I didn’t see anyone losing their composure, we made some good decisions.
Alexander has told Sky Sports:
“It was a strong performance considering we’ve come away from home to Bolton who have got a lot of firepower and have had one shot on target that splits the teams.
“We had some good moments we needed to take advantage of but to keep a team like Bolton to one shot on target was a very good defensive performance.
“We’ve found ourselves behind at half-time many times this season and come back to win or draw so we see it as a scenario we’ve been in before.
“We got the game we expected and I think we’ll get the game we expect on Thursday at Valley Parade but we’re confident with what we’ve got in the changing room and confident with what we’ve done at home over the past two seasons.”
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