Bradford City boss Derek Adams settles for opening point

The Bantams nearly gave their 685 travelling supporters the opening day win they craved and were good value for a share of the spoils against the Grecians.

Callum Cooke and Lee Angol were thwarted by a brilliant double save from Cameron Dawson in the best of the first-half action.

Andy Cook also had a close-range header cleared on the line as the Bantams failed to land a killer-blow.

“We’d have deserved the three points but at some stage in the game you’ve got to take a point,” reflected Adams. “Coming away from home on the first day of the season to Exeter, one of the promotion favourites, you’ve got to take a point sometimes.

“We started the game exceptionally well and created some really good openings. We should have been ahead.

“But we’ve had to come away with a point from a difficult place to come to.”

The Bantams also rode their luck and were lucky not to concede when Nigel Atangana wasted a great opportunity late on to win it for the hosts,

“Exeter are going to be up there – they always are – and we dealt well with the threats they had on the day,” stressed Adams.

“I thought it was just a matter of time before we’d threaten again if we could pick the right pass.

“We got down the sides of the back three and created some good opportunities without taking them.”

Exeter City: Dawson, Sweeney, Ray, Grounds, Key, Atangana, Dieng (Kite 75), Sparkes, Jay, Brown (Seymour 80), Nombe. Unused substitutes: Caprice, Rowe, Lee, Dyer, Dodd.

Bradford City: O’Donnell, Threlkeld (Vernam 45), Canavan, O’Connor, Ridehalgh, Watt, Sutton, Gilliead (Crankshaw 80), Cooke, Angol, Cook. Unused substitutes: Eisa, Hornby, Foulds, Kelleher, Evans.

Referee: S Allison (Wiltshire).