Graham Alexander hails Bradford resilience after draw with Lincoln

Manager Graham Alexander felt Bradford stood up to the physical test in their 0-0 draw with Lincoln at Valley Parade.

The Yorkshire side would have gone top of League One with a win but failed to score at home for the first time since March.

Their best chances came late in the game with Lincoln goalkeeper George Wickens saving from Tyreik Wright and Andy Cook while Tommy Leigh blasted over from 12 yards.

Alexander said: “It was a battle. It took me back a few years.

“It was a severe test for us defending set-pieces and the aerial threat and I thought to a man we competed really well.

“The first 15-20 minutes was a struggle for us to come to terms with what the game was. We had to make sure we stood up to that test and still offered a real goalscoring threat, which we did second half.

“We do a lot of small-sided games in really tight areas and there’s a lot of contact. It’s for games like that.

“You can still look after the ball, use your body and move it as quickly as you can, because you’re not going to get two seconds out there to decide what you’re doing. You have to have an idea in your head before you receive.

“That’s why we train in a way so we hope the games are easier than what the training sessions are.

“Second half we still had to do the hard yards and had to grind. That’s sometimes what the game is.”

Lincoln had the better of the first half and James Collins failed to take an early chance after being set up by Adam Reach.

Manager Michael Skubala was pleased to bounce back from Saturday’s defeat at Leyton Orient.

He said: “We came out like a house on fire, we were the better team and they had to change shape because they couldn’t cope with us.

“Then it went a bit more even but it’s a great point. We know it’s a tough place to come.

“We go away maybe a little bit disappointed because we had a couple of chances and maybe there was a penalty at the end. But I thought a point was fair because they were better than us in the last 10-15 minutes and we had to soak it up.

“You don’t want to get beaten twice on the road but the performance was good. We were creating chances and I thought Justin Obikwu was very good up there for his first start of the season and looked electric.

“We created some good chances in the first half which we haven’t hit the target with.

“If we go in 1-0 at half-time, it would have been a different game.”