Bury 0 Bradford City 1: Faith in Bantams justified after Daley secures victory

IT takes a special kind of devotion to make someone travel across the Pennines in the sort of weather that only ducks relish.

So, tremendous credit has to go to the 1,200 or so Bradford City fans who last night chose to forsake the warmth of the pub or their living room and Champions League football on television to follow Peter Taylor's side to Bury.

Their reward for battling through a torrential downpour that started early in the afternoon and only eased for a few minutes either side of half-time was to see the Bantams claim a truly stunning victory.

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A first half penalty by Omar Daley was enough to seal the points and continue the improvement in form that has now brought 12 points from the last five games.

It also thoroughly justified the faith of those who had made the trip from West Yorkshire to Gigg Lane in such miserable conditions.

The incessant rain had, in fact, been such a concern that the Shakers even took the precaution of handing out tickets to supporters paying on the day at the turnstiles in case the game was postponed.

As the players emerged from the tunnel, this seemed a very real possibility as the groundstaff had to work tirelessly to sweep standing water off the surface.

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Predictably, the action had been underway for less than two minutes when the first player fell victim to such testing conditions as Tom Adeyemi's attempted dart down the right flank was brought to a shuddering halt by the ball sticking in a puddle.

Adeyemi was, by no means, on his own in being foxed by the rain-sodden surface with perhaps the most laughable incident coming seven minutes before the break.

Mike Jones was this time the unwitting victim, his attempted quick corner to a team-mate running towards him from the six yard box travelling just one yard before grinding to a halt.

Thankfully, in between the comedy of errors there was plenty of endeavour and decent football to keep the 3,521 crowd entertained.

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For the opening 20 minutes, most of the quality came from Bury with only some tenacious defending from the visitors keeping Alan Knill's men out.

Luke Oliver and Steve Williams, in particular, deserved huge credit for keeping the Shakers at bay as the visitors were penned back by a combination of the home side's attacking intent and the strong wind blowing towards Lenny Pidgeley's goal.

All that changed, however, midway through the first half when the wind dropping was taken by Bradford as a signal to start pushing forward.

First, a stunning save from Owain Fon Williams kept out a Jason Price header after the loanee striker had been picked out by Leon Osborne.

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Adeyemi then went close with a fierce shot before City took the lead on the half-hour with the move of the night.

Neat play in midfield saw the ball initially moved forward to Daley, who then showed tremendous composure by putting his foot on the ball and assess his options.

Price, showing the intelligence that has characterised his career with a host of clubs including Hull City and Doncaster Rovers, duly set off on a run that Daley found with a deft pass.

He, in turn, just reached the ball a split second ahead of Fon Williams and referee Andy Haines, who deserved plenty of credit for ensuring the game went ahead, had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

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With regular penalty taker Lee Hendrie not risked due to the cramp he suffered in the weekend win over Oxford United, Daley assumed responsibility and showed great poise to send the Bury goalkeeper the wrong way.

Going behind clearly came as a shock to the home side, so much so in fact that it must have been why the Bury groundstaff were nowhere to be seen during the interval when there was a clear need to sweep more water off the surface at the Cemetery End.

Whatever the real reason for the inactivity, the Shakers players did at least show plenty of willing after the break as Ryan Lowe struck a post and Pidgeley saved acrobatically late on from Mike Jones.

There was, however, to be no denying City and the loyal supporters who, come the final whistle, were able to celebrate a second away win of the season.

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Bury: Fon Williams; Picken, Lees, Sodje, Skarz; Jones, Schumacher, Mozika, Worrall (John-Lewis 72); Lowe, Ajose. Unused substitutes: Futcher, Sweeney, Carlton, Haworth, Bennett, Branagan.

Bradford City: Pidgeley; Rehman, Oliver, Williams, O'Brien; Doherty (Bullock 85), Adeyemi, Syers; Osborne, Daley (Hanson 70); Price. Unused substitutes: Evans, McLaughlin, Moult, Chilaka, Threlfall.

Referee: A Haines (Tyne & Wear).

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