BATTLING BANTAMS SURVIVE
Bradford boss Phil Parkinson insisted he was delighted after their first clean sheet earned them their second point of the season.
The Bantams remain without a win after a hard-fought game that saw Barnsley hit the post twice.
But Parkinson declared the performance the best they’ve played over 90 minutes this season.
He said: “It was a lot better from us. We had discipline and were committed without the ball, and as the game wore on we got stronger and stronger.
“Really we should be sat talking about three points, but I’ve just got to focus on it being a proper Bradford City performance.
“You could see the response from our supporters because they detected that’s how we’ve got to play to earn results.”
Parkinson was also relieved to see Barnsley skipper Alfie Mawson’s header bounce off the post in injury time from Conor Hourihane’s crossed free-kick.
He added: “It would have been cruel because Barnsley looked on their last legs in the last 25 minutes.”
Barnsley played with great fluidity and had the better chances of a fiercely-contested all-Yorkshire game.
Marley Watkins struck the post from Marc Roberts’ long throw on 12 minutes, and Mawson nodded just over the bar 11 minutes later.
Sam Winnall then shook free of his defender and surprised Ben Williams with a low shot that the keeper saved.
Ben Pearson hit a ferocious drive on the stroke of half-time, but Williams was able to get it clear. That ruled out the possibility of Bradford blowing a half-time lead immediately after the break as they had done in all four previous games this season.
Steven Davies’ determination drew City’s best chance of the game midway through the second half, but he was unable to find the target under pressure from Tykes keeper Adam Davies after robbing Josh Scowen 25 yards out.
Mawson went agonisingly close with that injury-time header, but wasn’t able to find the net as the game ended in a stalemate.
The result extends Barnsley’s unbeaten run to four games, but boss Lee Johnson was disappointed not to make it three wins on the spin come the final whistle.
He said: “I knew it was going to be really tough.
“There were two contrasting styles and I thought it was quite a good game.
“There maybe weren’t as many shots on target as we’d all like, but I think everybody appreciated that it was a tough game all round.
“There were lots of positives. The way we moved the ball at times, we demoralised them with our passing, and we didn’t quite have enough on the end of it if I’m honest, but we certainly controlled the game.
“I’m coming out of it upset because we wanted the win, but generally knowing it’s a decent point.”