Leyton Orient 0 Bradford City 1: Bradford stun Orient with Mclean’s volley

The hosts enjoyed plenty of pressure in the second half as they fought desperately for an equaliser, but the Bantams’ defence stood strong.

It was a feisty contest at the Matchroom Stadium, one which saw Bantams’ boss Phil Parkinson ordered to the stands following a half-time confrontation in the tunnel with Orient’s assistant boss Kevin Nugent.

Despite that, Parkinson emerged after the game to salute his battling side.

“Orient are undoubtedly one of the top sides in this division and are up where they are in the table on merit,” he said.

“But we’ve managed to nullify them and come away with a victory which will do wonders for our confidence. If we can keep up this level of performance between now and the end of the season then we won’t go far wrong.”

The only goal of the game came just before the half-hour mark as Mclean superbly volleyed home from Gary Jones’s corner.

The altercation arose after the hosts thought they had been denied a penalty in first-half stoppage-time as David Cox’s shot appeared to strike a City player’s arm. Referee David Phillips had to step in as exchanges between Parkinson and Nugent turned ugly in the tunnel.

Orient piled on the pressure after the restart, but the closest they went to levelling came when Shaun Batt’s curling effort fizzed inches wide of a post.

Leyton Orient: Jones, Vuthbert, Sawyer, Ness, Baudry, Clarke, Odubajo, Lundstram (James 69), Mooney (Batt 70), Lisbie (Dagnall 79), Cox. Unused substitutes: Omozusi, Larkins, Lasimant, Simpson.

Bradford City: McLaughlan, Darby, Drury (McHugh 21), Dolan, McArdle, Davies, Bennett, Jones, Mclean (Bates 88), Stead (Thompson 78), Reach. Unused substitutes: Thompson, Yeates, De Vita, Stockdill.

Referee: D Phillips (W Sussex).