Bolton 0 Bradford City 0: Parkinson reunion is much ado about nothing

No warm embraces or hanging around, just a brief and business-like sign of professional respect before Stuart McCall and Phil Parkinson went their respective ways.

Inwardly at least, you suspect that both managers were probably pleased to have got Saturday out of the way, with all the hype and hullabaloo now dispensed with.

At least until the Valley Parade return in February.

As is often the case with these sort of events, the billing failed to live up to expectations.

A box-office build-up which helped draw in a huge 4,388 travelling support from West Yorkshire followed by a dimly-lit spectacle as slate-grey as a Lowry landscape.

The point, at least, will probably be more useful for Bradford City, who at least had the consolation of keeping their unbeaten seasonal league record intact.

Moreso especially if they back up with a victory over more Lancastrian opponents in Fleetwood tomorrow night.

Aside from one or two spicy challenges – quite often in the direction of Bantams loanee Josh Cullen – and the odd remonstration in his technical area from former Bradford manager Parkinson, Saturday’s Roses reunion day struggled to simmer, let alone boil.

Granted, there was some animation in the post-match musings, with Parkinson accusing the visitors of some ‘play-acting’ on occasions – most notably when winger Mark Marshall was booked for diving late on.

Parkinson also felt that midfielder Cullen was guilty of theatrics following some first-half challenges, although to the naked eye, it appeared that the West Ham loanee had been targeted for a bit of ‘treatment’ by the hosts.

It did, at least, provide a talking point on a day when there was little else to get excited about.

Offering his take, Cullen, subject of first-half challenges from midfield enforcers Jay Spearing and Josh Vela which yielded cautions, said: “That is what I have come to expect. It is not always going to be easy and people are not going to let you get on the ball and they are going to try and ruffle your feathers a bit.

“I have had it plenty of times before and it is just one of those things and you just have to rise above it and keep your cool and do not lose your head because that might be what they are after as well – for you to flick out and get yourself sent off.

“There were a few bumps and bruises along the way. But it was a competitive game and you have got to expect that.

“When we are trying to play the football as we are, teams are going to try and put us out of our rhythm and disturb us.

“We have just got to be good enough and brave enough to keep our heads and be one step above that and make sure we keep sticking to what we believe in. If we do that, then I am that the results will start coming.

“It could be a little bit of a disguised compliment and teams are going to try and disrupt our rhythm and make it hard for us.”

Even accounting for the lack of goalmouth incident, there was a fascinating contrast in styles nevertheless, with Bolton’s pressure-based percentage game contrasting with City’s more cerebral approach.

The claret-and-amber hordes showed what they made of the hosts’ approach with brazen chants of “hoof” at regular intervals, particularly in the first half.

The main plus-point for City arrived in the shape of their resolute defending in the face of some persistent aerial stuff from the hosts and while it represented a fifth successive draw – the first time that Bradford have recorded that feat in the league for a quarter of a century – some points are better than others.

The likes of Romaine Vincelot and Nathaniel Knight-Percival stood tall when the bullets were flying, with Bolton’s best chance to break the deadlock arriving from distance midway through the second-half when substitute Zach Clough fired a scorching shot just wide.

Bradford played some neat football between both penalty areas, but chances were a rarity with their best moment provided by substitute Jordy Hiwula, whose goalbound low shot was gathered at the second attempt by Mark Howard.

At the other end, Colin Doyle was also rather under-employed, with his most pertinent work arriving inside the first 30 seconds when he beat away a stinging Spearing drive, but it proved a moment in isolation.

Other than than, it was much ado about nothing.

Bolton Wanderers: Howard; Buxton, Wheater, Beevers, Moxey; Henry (C Taylor 80), Vela, Spearing, Trotter (Thorpe 69); Proctor, Ameobi (Clough 70). Unused substitutes: Alnwick, Derik, A Taylor.

Bradford City: Doyle; Darby, Vincelot, Knight-Percival, Meredith; Marshall, Cullen, Dieng, Law; B Clarke; McNulty (Hiwula 62). Unused substitutes: Sattelmaier, Vuckic, Morais, McArdle, Devine, Kilgallon.

Referee: M Heywood (Cheshire).