Fleetwood Town 2-1 Bradford City (original) (raw)

Joey Barton tasted victory at Highbury for the first time as his 10-man Fleetwood side beat Bradford in a controversial affair on the Fylde Coast.

Referee Andy Haines had a busy first half, chalking off a Ched Evans effort for handball after just two minutes.

Evans soon got himself on the scoresheet, bundling home an Ashley Hunter cross from close range in the 12th minute.

Haines found himself in the thick of the action again as George Miller was ruled to have been fouled by Jason Holt.

That set the stage for Eoin Doyle to net his first goal since joining from Preston in the summer, sliding the ball past Alex Cairns from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute.

Fleetwood had been in control up until that point and still looked the side most likely to go on and grab the three points but there was a potential momentum-swinging moment in the 43rd minute as Wes Burns was sent off for a strong tackle on Adam Chicksen.

Fleetwood refused to roll over and it was the 10 men who restored their lead just three minutes into the second half as Hunter pounced on an Evans centre.

Match report supplied by the Press Association.

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