Francis blames lack of fitness

Last updated : 09 March 2003 By FootyMAD
Noel Whelan's first goal in a Palace shirt gave The Eagles lead only for the Bantams to score twice in three second-half minutes and Francis felt the effects of players returning from injuries contributed to this.

"The opposition found energy that they could not seem to find in the first hour," said the Eagles boss.

"It was like a dam that had burst and we could just not stop the flow once the first goal went in.

"The problem we had was that there were a number of players who've been absent through injury this season and there were players on the field who were suffering through a lack of fitness."


Bradford Match Report