Graham Alexander: Bradford City boss laments 'cruel' EFL Trophy semi-final loss to Wycombe

Wycombe will face fellow League One side Peterborough in the final at Wembley on Sunday, 7 April

Bradford City boss Graham Alexander said his side were "magnificent" in their Bristol Street Motors Trophy semi-final defeat by Wycombe.

The League Two Bantams had the better of the chances but missed out on a trip to Wembley after Matt Butcher struck an injury-time winner for the League One side.

"Cruel's a good word for it," Alexander told BBC Radio Leeds.

"The players were magnificent and I'm devastated for them."

He added: "There was a brilliant atmosphere and that was triggered by how the players dominated the game, from start almost to the finish.

"There was a quirk of fate, a little bit of a ricochet and they've taken their opportunity. It gave us hardly any chance to get back, I'd have preferred to concede with 20 minutes to go.

"It's easier to take when you've been outplayed. The players were brilliant - because there was a lot of pressure going into a semi-final at home against a League One club - but we were on it."

The Bantams are one of a clutch of teams within three points of the top seven in an incredibly congested fourth-tier table.

They are 13th but just two points behind Harrogate in the final play-off place, while 16th-placed Walsall are themselves just three points outside the top seven.

After a run of three successive league wins helped them climb back into contention, Alexander is determined not to see their season fizzle out now.

"We have to take it on the chin. We're out of the competition but this can't be a knockout blow to our season. We have to get up off the canvas," he said.

"I'm always honest with the players and I told them I was proud of them, I thought they were fantastic, but I wanted to talk about the future and what an opportunity we have to make this a successful season.

"I can't expect the players not to feel down and hurt but I'd like to make it a fuel for us going forward, to not feel like that again.

"What I've seen tonight is this team is capable of fantastic performances. We didn't let up for 94 minutes and they've just swung a punch at the end and caught us with it. It's a difficult one to take right now."

10 teams in League Two are separated by just three points