Gregory’s red card harmed us massively, says Poppies boss Glover

The Poppies were looking in good shape after they took the lead thanks to George Forsyth’s first goal for the club.

But it ended up being an eventful day for Forsyth as, with no goalkeeper on the bench, he then took over between the sticks after Gregory was sent-off for violent conduct following an incident shortly before half-time.

Bradford piled the pressure on in the second period, hitting the woodwork and missing a penalty, but the Poppies couldn’t quite hang on as Jordan Preston finally broke their resistance in the fifth of eight minutes of stoppage-time.

The draw leaves Glover’s team still in the Vanarama National League North relegation zone.

And he said: “I think I probably would have taken a point at half-time because we were obviously down to 10 men, our goalkeeper had been sent-off and we didn’t have a keeper on the bench.

“A lot of clubs at our level don’t carry a keeper on the bench or they do what we do and sometimes have their goalkeeping coach on there.

“Bradford hit the bar and missed a penalty but the award of that was a shocking decision. I think the referee was under a bit of pressure with stuff being said in the crowd and there were a whole manner of incidents.

“For a neutral it was probably a good game of football to watch, there was always an edge to it and something happening.

“For me and us, if Cameron Gregory doesn’t get sent-off, we win the game.

“We had got a goal, we didn’t have as much possession as them but we had more efforts at goal. I think we would have gone on to win the game.

“The sending-off has harmed us, massively.

“But fair credit to the lads in that second half. They really had to work hard to get us that point.”

With Gregory now set to start a three-match ban, Glover will look to bring in a goalkeeper on loan ahead of Saturday’s crucial home clash with fellow strugglers Boston United.

And he is hoping a familiar face could come in to fill that void in the form of Derby County youngster Harrison Foulkes who enjoyed a successful loan stint at Latimer Park earlier this season.

“I have spoken to people and we would like to get Harrison back if we can,” he added.

“It’s funny because people have seen our goalkeeper has been sent-off and then I had agents getting in touch on Sunday. They are just doing their job.

“But I would prefer to have someone we know, someone who has been in the club and Harrison did very well for us in his previous spell.”