Bradford City 1 Swindon 0: One-nil to the Bradford boys as Parkinson's men stay the course

Three more precious promotion points in the bag and second place in the Grand National following an each-way wager on Last Samuri – and speaking of second, there might be other business to attend to aside from turf matters.

Namely, league placings. The numbers are starting to stack up for Bradford; up to a season-high third spot in League One after four successive 1-0 wins and clean sheets on the spin and five wins in their past six outings.

When it comes to the promotion stakes, City are the form horse and coming up on the rails – they are now closer to faltering Burton Albion, in second place, than seventh-placed Barnsley and maybe their season might not need an extra furlong beyond May 8.

The odds on that remain long with Parkinson’s side still six points adrift of Burton with just five matches to go, but it is maybe worth a small punt on the outsiders.

City may not have won few marks for artistic merit and impression on Saturday against a toothless Swindon side.

But they are stayers and rarely let you down. Resolutely organised and physically strong across the pitch and insatiable in their desire not to concede, it is perhaps no coincidence that City share those characteristics with a number of sides well placed for memorable campaigns – step forward the likes of Leicester City, Burnley, Middlesbrough and Wigan Athletic.

Managers’ love a 1-0 win and another was served up for Bradford, their tenth of a campaign which has seen them keep 19 clean sheets thus far, with Parkinson’s side starting to perform a very passable impersonation of George Graham’s stingy class of the late eighties and early nineties at Arsenal.

A little bit of luck helps along the way, which Bradford got when Tyrell Belford failed to cope with Billy Clarke’s looping 20th-minute header under pressure from Lee Evans, the effort just crossing the line before it was cleared by Jordan Turnbull – with a goal signalled.

Another dose of fortune arrived in the 81st minute when City escaped after Jack Brophy went down in the box under close personal attention from Nathan Clarke after a probing run into the area – but referee David Coote was unmoved.

The hosts, over the course of the piece, just about deserved only their second win over Swindon in 12 meetings after grinding out another keynote success when they were rarely in danger against lightweight visitors who badly missed the injured Nicky Ajose.

It was ultimately another striker who took the headlines with his first goal since November in Billy Clarke – on a good day for the Irish given teenage jockey David Mullins’s success in the big race at Aintree. On his goal, just his third of an injury-hit campaign, he said: “It has been long overdue for me and I am over the moon.

“I am delighted to score. I thought it was in and that the keeper made a meal of it, to be honest. I kept my header on target and he kind of flapped and pushed it back and it was clearly over the line.

“But it doesn’t matter what the score is, as long as we get the win. It is literally about getting results at this stage of the season.

“It would obviously be nice to win five or six-nil and play like Barcelona. But at this time of year, it is a battle and everyone is scrapping and the pitches aren’t great.

“We have had success over hard work and graft in the past few weeks and carried that on and have been rewarded.

“At this stage of the season, you also need a bit of luck as well and can’t just grind it out with no luck on your side and maybe we got lucky (with the non-penalty).”

Offering his take on City’s possible pitch for the top two, he pragmatically added: “I don’t really think we can get carried away.

“Three games ago, we were going for the top six and the success we have had has been from taking each game as it comes and working hard and going into games with the same mentality. We can’t take our foot off the gas.”

City were resolute following Billy Clarke’s opener after Swindon’s defence failed to cope with a booming long throw from the right from Nathan Clarke – with the visitors making no impact whatsoever in a meek first half aside from a shot from distance just before the interval from Jermaine Hylton, which was easily held by Ben Williams.

Aside from the goal, Andy Proctor had two decent headed chances and Evans went close with a free-kick, with the second half attritional in comparison.

Swindon pepped up a bit on the restart, but City were in unforgiving mood at the back and maintained a vice-like grip on proceedings. The only threatening moment arrived with the late penalty controversy, no laughing matter for the Robins, who had suspended three players earlier in the week for allegedly inhaling nitrous oxide.

One-nil to the Bradford boys, again..