Bradford City 0 Coventry City 0: Rock-solid Bantams stay clean to extend hot streak

Last season brought not one but two goals in stoppage time as Bradford claimed all three points, a year on from the Yorkshire outfit rescuing a point from a six-goal classic courtesy of a Nahki Wells penalty at the death.

Last night, however, the Bantams and Coventry were unable to match that late drama during a goalless draw in which chances had been at a premium.

However, as the 17,757 crowd rightly applauded the combatants from the field at the final whistle, there was an unmistakable sense of satisfaction among both sets of fans that the season is shaping up well.

For Coventry, a point meant retaining pole position despite nearest rivals Gillingham beating Rochdale.

From a Bradford perspective, meanwhile, there was a feeling that Phil Parkinson’s side is coming of age in what is shaping up to be a fascinating promotion race.

Against a strong Sky Blues outfit who have been scoring for fun lately, the Bantams were rock-solid once again to extend their run since last conceding a goal to more than 11 hours.

In the process, the Yorkshire side made it 10 games unbeaten in all competitions to move into the play-off places for the first time in a little under a year.

Plenty, therefore, to be optimistic about for Bradford ahead of another tough assignment this weekend at third-placed Walsall.

Considering last night brought together the League One leaders and the team who topped the form table in the third tier courtesy of taking 20 points from their previous eight games, proceedings were always likely to be tight.

That was exactly how the game panned out, with chances hard to come by despite both the Bantams and Sky Blues playing with plenty of positive intent.

Coventry came the closest to breaking the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes, a sweeping move cutting the home side open to such an extent that Jacob Murphy was able to send Adam Armstrong clear.

The Newcastle United loanee – the visitors’ top scorer with 12 goals to his name – raced into the area before firing a shot that beat Ben Williams but, unfortunately for Tony Mowbray’s team, not the post.

Ruben Lameiras was then unable to capitalise on the rebound, as the Bradford defence belatedly got men back to smother the ball.

Bradford didn’t get quite as close as Armstrong during an even first half but Billy Clarke did fire narrowly over on the half volley.

Rory McArdle also shot just wide of the target following good work by Billy Knott on the left flank to underline why Coventry’s backline could not afford even the merest of slips.

Mowbray, a defender of some repute in his own playing career, had clearly decided the best way to nullify James Hanson was to nudge and niggle the striker at every turn. It was an approach that worked well, Hanson being well shackled by a resolute Sky Blues defence before being substituted in the final quarter.

By then, both goalkeepers had been given much more of a workout than had been the case in the opening 45 minutes.

Williams, who has now not been beaten in 668 minutes, was the busier of the two and a major factor in why the deadlock could not be broken.

The 33-year-old’s first save of note came eight minutes after the restart as Murphy shot low at the end of a sweeping move.

Ryan Kent was the next to be left frustrated by Williams, who clawed a curled effort from the substitute to safety after Armstrong had shown commendable strength in the middle of the field to spread the play.

Completing Williams’s hat-trick of fine stops was when he beat away a Murphy drive as Coventry pressed late on for the winner.

As vital as those saves were, however, the Bantams goalkeeper was far from his own in needing to be alert with Reice Charles-Cook saving smartly from Tony McMahon after Kyel Reid’s searching left wing cross had evaded the entire Coventry defence.

It meant the two sides could not be separated but, crucially, the Bantams made it seven clean sheets in a row – one short of a club record, set during the 1910-11 season that saw the Valley Parade outfit lift the FA Cup.

Bradford City: Williams; Darby, McArdle, N Clarke, Leigh; McMahon, Evans (Liddle 85), Knott, Reid; B Clarke (Cole 74), Hanson (Bowery 74). Unused substitutes: Cracknell, Marshall, Morris, James.

Coventry City: Charles-Cook; Ricketts, , Turner, Martin, Stokes; Vincelot, Bigirimana; Murphy, Lameiras (Kent 71), Armstrong; Fortune (O’Brien 58). Unused substitutes: Burge, Thomas, Phillips, Tudgay, Haynes.

Referee: N Miller (County Durham).