Bradford City 2, Portsmouth 1; by Richard Sutcliffe at Valley Parade.

The outpouring of relief all round Valley Parade which met referee Steve Baines' final whistle told its own story as Bradford City turned up the pressure on promotion rivals Ipswich Town.

Anything less than three points against struggling Portsmouth was unthinkable for Paul Jewell's side as their bid to seal second place in the First Division gathers pace.

But with so many City players suffering a dip in form, the home fans had experienced probably their most nerve-wracking end to a match since the penultimate game of the 1996-97 season when a 1-0 victory over Charlton played a huge part in the club avoiding relegation.

The stakes are, however, so much higher now because City are tantalisingly close to ending their 77-year wait for a return to the top flight.

John Durnin's 67th-minute strike had halved City's lead, and I doubt the City fans have not looked at their watch as frequently as in those closing stages.

When the final whistle eventually sounded, those supporters knew that no matter how indifferently their side had played, the only statistic which mattered was that City had earned another three points, thanks to first half strikes from Lee Mills and Lee Sharpe.

That briefly put City back into second position in the First Division, only for Ipswich to reclaim the automatic promotion berth yesterday after a goalless draw at Norwich.

However, the fact is that Paul Jewell's men have taken advantage of a rare slip by Town, cutting their lead to just one point.

In truth, City have played a lot better and lost. However, they deserve credit for the way they stuck doggedly to their task, despite Pompey, and midfielder Sammy Igoe in particular, playing the better football.

City's defensive pairing of Ashley Westwood and Darren Moore were notably impressive, Pompey struggling to create too many chances in those crucial final 23 minutes.

Moore was particularly good in the air, while Westwood read the game well on the ground, and with the ever-reliable Gary Walsh behind them, it was clear that Pompey would need something extra special to carve out an equaliser.

In contrast, City produced one of their most disappointing displays going forward, only a handful of players catching the eye.

Sharpe grabbed his second goal in as many home games to cap an afternoon where he was at the heart of most of City's better moves. He scored one, created the other with a fine pass and also opened up the Pompey defence twice, while Peter Beagrie was also in excellent form out wide, despite carrying an ankle injury.

Despite their approach play being less than convincing, City's two goals were worthy of winning any game - despite what Alan Ball said after the game during his 'fluky goals' outburst.

First, Sharpe slipped a fine ball to Lee Mills and he chipped an exquisite lob over a stranded Alan Knight. Then Beagrie picked out Sharpe with a fine deep cross, which was duly nodded back across goal into the far corner of the net.

And, despite Pompey's brave fightback, the double strike was enough to earn all three points and leave City in confident mood ahead of tomorrow's crucial visit to Port Vale.

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