Bantams chairman Mark Lawn admits he feared the worst at 2-0 down
Sunday 25 January 2015 11:03, UK
Bradford City manager Phil Parkinson says his side's 'surreal' 4-2 FA Cup win over Chelsea was the best of the Bantams' cup shocks.
The League One side pulled off one of the greatest ever upsets in the competition as they came from 2-0 down to stun the Premier League leaders at Stamford Bridge.
And Parkinson, who oversaw Bradford’s amazing run to the League Cup final in 2013, says this victory tops the lot.
In terms of the performance, the magnitude of beating Chelsea today, that's got to beat them all.
“In terms of the performance, the magnitude of beating Chelsea today, that's got to beat them all," he commented.
"It's only slightly sinking in. When we were on the pitch celebrating at the end it did feel a bit surreal, that we've come to the league leaders and scored four goals.
"It's a great feeling and will be remembered in Bradford for a long time, but the rest of the country as well."
Despite leading 4-2 in second-half injury-time, Parkinson refused to shake Jose Mourinho’s hand before the final whistle.
He said there was no ill feeling in the gesture and praised the Chelsea manager for his sportsmanship after the match.
"At that point there was three and a half minutes left. I wasn't getting drawn into that,” he said.
"Two goal leads are great, but they can be quickly reduced. We just wanted to stay focused on the result until the whistle went.
"If Chelsea had got one back, even at that late stage, with the world-class players they had on the pitch, they could easily have got a second.
"We wanted to concentrate on what we had to do and see the game through. I was just focused on getting the team right and making sure the lads weren't getting carried away.
"I don't think he meant to be disrespectful. He came into the dressing room afterwards and shook everyone's hand. That was a real touch of class."
Bradford chairman Mark Lawn told Sky Sports News HQ that the win was as good as beating Barcelona and also paid tribute to the fans.
“The fans got what they deserved, they never stopped singing, you would have thought we were at home,” he said.
“It was absolutely wonderful, the way they went about it in the last 15 minutes was what Chelsea did to other teams, we hit them on the break.
“At 2-0 down I was thinking how many is it going to be at the end, to be honest! I’m so proud of the lads, they ran themselves ragged. This is like beating Barcelona. They had an off day but you see the football they play and it’s amazing. Phil instils hard work into his side and it paid off today. It’s wonderful.”
