Glad tidings and bad timing at Valley Parade

CITY fans found another use for the world record number of Christmas jumpers they were asked to wear to Valley Parade.

The festive woollies also come in pretty handy for covering your face after another sting in the tail.

Like Gillingham, a few weeks before, Scunthorpe rescued a draw with virtually the last kick of the afternoon.

Unlike Peter Taylor’s smash and grab raid, Mark Robins’ side could argue that it was the least they deserved after bossing proceedings from half-time.

Scunthorpe are used to late shows, coming on the back of that 32-penalty shoot-out marathon against Worcester three days earlier.

It was also a familiar feeling for City to blow another lead at Valley Parade. That’s seven points dropped from winning positions in the last four home games.

The raw frustration at seeing another victory, however fortuitous, snatched away at the death revealed itself in the smattering of boos at the final whistle.

In the cold light of day, those critics must realise their reaction was over the top. Looking back over the whole piece, this was really a point gained by the Bantams rather than two robbed in added time.

You had to feel some sympathy for Jordan Pickford, whose agility and shot-stopping heroics had kept Scunthorpe at bay for so long.

To think it was not that long ago when the kangaroo court of social media had already condemned the Sunderland keeper as “another Simon Eastwood” – a young loanee incapable of conquering the occasionally brutal stage of Valley Parade.

That annoyed Phil Parkinson intensely at the time. His homework had told him what a good goalie City had acquired; trusted sources confirmed that Pickford was a star in the making.

Now we can all see it and there haven’t been too many grumbles of late.

His virtuoso performance on Saturday personally deserved a better outcome after coming to City’s rescue on three or four occasions in the second half procession towards the home goal.

His reflexes were exceptional, especially with the pick of the bunch when he acrobatically tipped over a Paddy Madden thunderbolt.

Pickford did get his breaks – Luke Williams should have scored rather than firing at him from close range and there looked to be little wrong with Andrew Boyce’s leap above Andrew Davies that was chalked off in the first half.

But the keeper more than earned his luck. You will be hard pressed to see a better display between the posts this season.

In front of him, Rory McArdle continued his excellent season with another barn-stormer – at both ends of the field.

Not content with the day job, throwing his body in the way with a series of blocks and tackles, McArdle also morphed into Messi to score a goal of stunning quality.

McArdle jokes that his goals are pretty much always the same, headers from a set-piece. Well not any more.

His repertoire has now expanded to add left-foot curlers into the top corner. Yes, you read that right.

Pickford laughed afterwards that he had never seen one of them before in training. McArdle’s exquisite effort certainly stunned Scunthorpe.

They were still riding the storm of an unsuccessful City shout for hand ball after Boyce charged down a shot from Filipe Morais. In the ensuing confusion, Jon Stead intelligently engineered enough space for McArdle to coolly convert from the edge of the penalty area.

That moment of magic gave City a slender half-time advantage they just about warranted, although Iron were justifiably aggrieved that their own centre half Boyce’s name was not on the scoresheet.

The former pros in the press box were unanimous in feeling that the Scunthorpe defender’s contact with Davies was legitimate and the “equaliser” should have stood.

That was one warning for City; the other came from Gary McSheffrey’s cross that just had too much on it for Madden in front of goal before Pickford denied Richard Brindley’s follow-up.

Parkinson’s half-time message stressed the need to stay on the front foot. He reminded the players how they had pressured Leyton Orient and pinned them in their own half during the last home win.

But Saturday went the other way. Scunthorpe signalled their intentions straight from the re-start and immediately set the tone for 45 minutes (well, 49 unfortunately) of attack against defence.

Things could have been different if they had been reduced to ten men for Isaiah Osbourne’s very late lunge on Billy Clarke. Parkinson saw it as a straight red but the striker got off with a booking.

So Scunthorpe’s full complement continued their assault on the City goal. Pickford stood in their way, saving from Williams, McSheffrey and twice from Madden.

The home side still had their own promising moments but failed to make them count. Parkinson wondered whether it was fatigue from so much defending that blunted their effectiveness going forward.

They certainly lacked that cutting edge around the penalty area, typified when Jon Stead tried to be too deliberate after being teed up by Billy Knott’s quick-thinking and shot straight at keeper Sam Slocombe when well placed.

Those are the opportunities that need to be taken to put a game to bed. City’s clock management in those fateful added minutes should also have been much better.

When Yeates was fouled to the side of the Scunthorpe box, it should have been the signal for one last attack to eat up valuable seconds.

Instead a non-descript free-kick came to nothing and the ball was once again transferred to the other end.

Andrew Davies was unable to get a proper head on Miguel Llera’s angled pass and it broke kindly for Hakeeb Adelakun. James Meredith was too tight to the substitute, who beat him easily before ripping up Pickford’s clean sheet with a fierce cross-shot.

The timing stunk, though given Scunthorpe’s mastery since the break maybe it was just as well they didn’t have another 20 minutes to convert one point into three. You could see why they are unbeaten on the road under Robins.

Had City managed to hang on, they would have celebrated Christmas in a play-off spot after Garry Thompson had pegged back Rochdale equally late for next week’s visitors Notts County.

That promises to be a bit special when Thompson and, of course, Gary Jones come to town. But please, let’s hope for an uneventful finale.

City v Scunthorpe picture gallery