Bradford City 4-0 Millwall
- Published
Millwall have defender sent off after six minutes
Bradford score three goals in the first half
League One side face Chelsea in fourth round
Lions had just one shot on target
League One Bradford City secured an FA Cup fourth-round trip to Chelsea after a convincing win over 10-man Millwall.
City, League Cup finalists in 2013, dominated their Championship visitors, scoring three first-half goals after defender Mark Beevers was sent off.
James Hanson headed in the opener before Jon Stead poked in and Andy Halliday tapped home before half-time.
Millwall rarely threatened, with Martyn Woolford shooting wide before Billy Knott lashed in a fourth.
It is the first time in 15 years Bradford have reached the FA Cup fourth round, while defeat for Millwall continued their torrid run of form in recent weeks.
The Championship strugglers, 22nd in their division, arrived at Bradford looking for only their second win in 13 games and they got off to the worst possible start by having a man sent off and conceding a goal in the opening 10 minutes.
The Lions struggled on a muddy pitch from the outset and when a ball over the top bounced awkwardly for the defence, Hanson's attempt to run through on goal was ended when Beevers pulled back the Bradford striker and the Millwall defender was subsequently shown a red card.
Moments later, Bradford capitalised on a Millwall defence still trying to organise itself by taking the lead. Halliday's corner was flicked on by Rory McArdle and Hanson was left unmarked to power in a header at the far post.
The early goal mirrored the start of the first game between the two sides, when Bradford also grabbed an early lead, but on that occasion Millwall fought back to force the replay.
This time, Millwall's defence quickly conceded a second as a set piece again proved their undoing when Filipe Morais's free-kick was headed down by Andrew Davies for Stead to sweep home.
The away side's frustrations bubbled over soon after as a foul by Millwall skipper Alan Dunne prompted a melee between both sets of players that also resulted in Bradford manager Phil Parkinson and his assistant Steve Parkin being sent to the stands for their reaction to the initial challenge.
But, even without the presence of their manager on the touchline, Bradford continued to dominate a sorry Millwall side, who did not muster a shot on goal until the 85th minute.
The hosts added a third through Halliday's close-range finish before the break before Knott capitalised on poor defending to seal victory in the second half.
Bradford manager Phil Parkinson:
"There was a big prize at stake, to get the club into the fourth round for the first time in 15 years, so the tie at Stamford Bridge, we wanted to achieve that and we focused on the factors that would help us.
"I said to the lads at half-time I had to apologise for that [being sent to the stands] because I had to ask them to keep their cool and stay on the pitch.
"But I'm glad it didn't ruin a great night. The lads didn't need us on the touchline anyway. It was nice and quiet for us in the stands."
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