Wycombe Wanderers manager Matte Bloomfield has praised his defensive players following the club’s 2-1 victory against Bradford City in the FA Cup.

The Chairboys progressed into the second round of the world’s oldest football competition thanks to a Killian Phillips strike and a Sam Stubbs own goal, before a Jamie Walker goal in the final 25 minutes made it a nervy ending at Valley Parade.

But Wanderers weathered the storm as they secured their first victory in the first round of the tournament since November 2017.

It also ended a run of four games without a win, whilst at the same time, making it five fixtures unbeaten on the road.

READ MORE: Live FA Cup updates at Valley Parade: Bradford City 1-2 Wycombe Wanderers

He said: “It’ll be nice to have a run so getting into the second round is very pleasing.

“But to be honest, it was an uncomfortable afternoon as I thought Bradford were fantastic in the way they passed the ball, pressed and created their opportunities.

“However, I’m very happy with the way we defended our box, especially near the end when they threw everything at us.

“Luke Leahy, Ryan Tafazolli, Richard Keogh, Joe Low and Harry Boyes all defended well, along with Jasper Pattenden as well.

“They got a lot of blocks in and it’s important to remember that these lads have played a lot of football in recent weeks.

“So even when they looked leggy, they still defended well so fair play to them.

READ MORE: Wycombe Wanderers earn rare FA Cup victory as they progress into the second round

“We put Keogh on because of his experience – he knows how to deal with those situations.

“The application and work ethic we showed was really good and I’m really impressed and pleased in how we got through it.

“This will give the boys a lot more confidence.”

Wycombe, for large parts, were the better team, especially when two goals up.

But after Walker pulled one back, the Bantams’ tails were up and it seemed inevitable that an equaliser was going to follow.

But heroic defending and organisation eventually got Wanderers through a challenging afternoon in West Yorkshire.

Wycombe will find out their opponents for the second round on November 5.

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He continued: “I’m really proud of how defended but I want us to improve going forward as we had a couple of chances to break.

“I’m so pleased as we needed to be mindful of the fact that when it was 2-1, Bradford were playing really well.

“Their fans were waiting for something to cheer about in trying to knock out a higher league opposition, so we had to manage that.

“There were times where I thought we could have managed things a bit better, but this is part of the learning process.”