Morecambe 0 Bradford City 0: City forced to accept Morecambe stalemate

The Globe Arena pitch was hardly conducive to good football, but City were the better side throughout and had enough chances in the second half to have secured the win.

The first half was almost entirely devoid of goalmouth action, Gary Jones’s shot on the turn from Ritchie Jones’s cross the closest either side came to threatening a breakthrough.

City almost broke the deadlock within three minutes of the restart when Rory McArdle met Gary Jones’s corner perfectly only to see home goalkeeper Barry Roche turn the ball round a post.

Jack Redshaw sliced an effort wide and Lewis Allessandra was inches away from connecting with Jordan Burrow’s cross as the home side enjoyed their best spell of the game just past the hour mark.

Half-time substitute Nahki Wells had a couple of near misses, forcing a fine save out of Roche and flashing an effort from a tight angle across the face of goal and narrowly wide.

City manager Phil Parkinson sent on Kyel Reid for the final 17 minutes and he caused the home defence plenty of problems, winning a series of free-kicks on the left.

From one – with 10 minutes remaining – he delivered the perfect ball for James Hanson eight yards out but the striker, who was entirely unmarked, headed down and straight into Roche’s hands.

Morecambe: Roche; Parrish, Fenton, McCready, Wright; Drummond (Threlfall 57), MacDonald; Allessandro, Redshaw (Reid 84), Ellison; Burrow (Brodie 67). Unused substitutes: Arestidou, Haining, Parkinson, McGee.

Bradford City: Duke; Darby, McArdle, Doyle, Meredith (Good 46); R Jones, Ravenhill, Atkinson; G Jones (Reid 73); Hines (Wells 46), Hanson. Unused substitutes: McLaughlin, Connell, Naylor, Turgott.

Referee: R Lewis (Shropshire).