Stuart McCall looking for Bradford City to stand up and be counted

STUART McCALL had every sympathy with his Bradford City players after they were edged out on the road at Leyton Orient.
By Phil Harrison
Published 25th Nov 2020, 11:35 BST
Updated 25th Nov 2020, 11:43 BST
EDGED OUT: Bradford City's Elliot Watt battles with Leyton Orient's Hector Kyprianou at The Breyer Group Stadium on Tuesday night. Picture: Jacques Feeney/Getty Images.EDGED OUT: Bradford City's Elliot Watt battles with Leyton Orient's Hector Kyprianou at The Breyer Group Stadium on Tuesday night. Picture: Jacques Feeney/Getty Images.
EDGED OUT: Bradford City's Elliot Watt battles with Leyton Orient's Hector Kyprianou at The Breyer Group Stadium on Tuesday night. Picture: Jacques Feeney/Getty Images.

The 1-0 defeat, courtesy of a 64th-minute header from Dan Happe, inflicted a second successive defeat on the Bantams, following a dispiriting 3-0 reverse at Salford City on Saturday.

The latest setback sees City drop to 20th in the League Two standings after 13 outings, just two points above the bottom two.

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Leyton Orient 1 Bradford City 0 - McCall left to rue missed chances
Bradford City boss Stuart McCall was pleased with the way his players responded to the weekend 3-0 defeat to Salford in their performance at Leyton Orient on Tuesday night . Picture: Bruce RollinsonBradford City boss Stuart McCall was pleased with the way his players responded to the weekend 3-0 defeat to Salford in their performance at Leyton Orient on Tuesday night . Picture: Bruce Rollinson
Bradford City boss Stuart McCall was pleased with the way his players responded to the weekend 3-0 defeat to Salford in their performance at Leyton Orient on Tuesday night . Picture: Bruce Rollinson

But, despite the result at the Breyer Group Stadium, manager McCall felt there was much to admire about his team’s performance, against an in-form Orient team who now sit just outside the play-off spots – a position that currently seems a long way off for Bradford.

“It was night and day in comparison to Saturday’s performance,” insisted McCall. “To limit a side who have won their last two home league matches 4-0 and 3-0 to that many opportunities says a lot about how we played.

“It was a really spirited effort from the lads and I am absolutely gutted for them. It is as sick as I have felt for a long, long time - because we did not deserve to lose the game.

“I am not saying we deserved to win the game, but there was definitely not a lack of desire. The determination and commitment - after a poor result and performance on Saturday - was unquestionable”

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McCall admits times are tough for his team at the moment, but believes they are capable of pulling themselves out of a run which has seen them win just once in the last eight league games.

“We are going through a difficult time at the moment, which happens in football, and we have to stand up and be counted,” added McCall. “We got into great areas and just did not test the goalkeeper enough. I thought we played some really good football in the first half.

“We put some decent balls in their box and just did not manage to get anything on the end of them. They put one good ball into our box and got a header on it which found its way in. It was sickening”

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Related topics:Leyton OrientLeague TwoBradford

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