The Iron had to settle for a point, as they played out a 0-0 draw with Bradford City at the Northern Commercials Stadium.
The hosts had the better of an opening period which saw Luke Daniels pull off an array of excellent stops. From then on though, it was Scunthorpe who created the better opportunities, but they couldn’t quite find the crucial breakthrough which would have secured maximum points.United went into the game unchanged, as Graham Alexander stuck with the same side which was victorious against Millwall last time out.
Both teams were out of the blocks quickly, but it was the visitors who posed the first question, with Josh Morris sending a dipping drive towards Colin Doyle’s bottom left hand corner. The Irishman was alive to it though, and held onto the winger’s effort.
It was then the turn of Daniels to produce a smart stop of his own, denying Nathaniel Knight-Percival from close range. Comfortable work all in all for the Iron stopper though, as he grabbed hold of the defender’s glancing header.
Bradford’s second effort in quick succession soon followed. This time it was Nicky Law with the attempt. However, once again Daniels reacted well, and clutched the stabbed attempt.
On 20 minutes, Morris looked to have prized the Bantams’ backline wide open as he broke with the ball from a corner. After driving over the half-way line and almost into the opposing penalty area though, he was stopped in his tracks by some clever defensive work.
Scunthorpe had an inspired Daniels to thank once more though, ten minutes prior to the interval. Not for the first time in the match, the ‘keeper showed superb reflexes to, this time, turn away a goal-bound effort from Filipe Morais.
Daniels’ heroics kept the home side at bay, as the two sides walked off level at the break.
Stuart McCall’s men flew out of the traps at the beginning of the second half, and applied the pressure straight away. United’s back four stood up to it well however, with Goode making, what could only be described as a last ditch block, minutes after the restart.
Morris then went close to finding the all important opener. His left-footed free kick from the left was curled exquisitely, and only a sprawling Doyle in the Bantams goal could deny him, as he clawed the ball back off the goal-line.
Another chance came the way of Alexander’s side mid-way through the second period, and it fell to Morris. Paddy Madden’s throughball was initially left by an offside Tom Hopper, leaving Morris to run clean through on goal. The winger just couldn't keep his shot down though, and he fired over the crossbar from around 18 yards out.
United visibly grew in confidence as the half wore on, and they began to create more and more telling moments. Good link-up play from Morris and Harry Toffolo on the left then gave Madden the chance to take aim, but the striker could only flash his effort wide of the post.
The workload for Daniels had tapered off somewhat in the second half, but he had to be alert when Bantams forward James Hanson planted a header into his arms on 77 minutes.
A matter of moments later, a decent opening came the way of the away side, and for Hopper. Madden’s work down the left flank was excellent, and his cross was inches away from being turned home by United’s number 14, who just couldn’t quite steer the ball home.
The frontman had a half-chance in the dying minutes of the game, but his sliced shot proved to be the last action, in an entertaining goalless draw in Yorkshire.
TEAM LINE-UPS
Bradford City: Doyle, Meredith, Law, Vincelot, Marshall, Dieng, Hanson, Cullen, Morais (McNulty, 73), Knight-Percival, McMahon.
Substitutes not used: Sattelmaier, Darby, Hiwula, McArdle, Devine, Kilgallon.
Scunthorpe United: Daniels, Wallace, Dawson, Madden (Smallwood, 89), Morris (Mantom, 85), Bishop, Hopper, Toffolo, Adelakun (Holmes, 90+1), Goode, Clarke.
Substitutes not used: Anyon, Wiseman, van Veen, Margetts.
Attendance: 21,874 (1,591 away).
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