Bantams get it right in end to rescue draw against Morecambe

HINDSIGHT is a wonderful thing but Graham Alexander could be forgiven for thinking he chose wrong with the coin toss.

A stirring second-half comeback made for an ultimately pretty satisfied Valley Parade audience from the first home Boxing Day for six years.

Two goals down at the break, every one of the 18,000 home fans would have snapped your hand off for the point the Bantams had pocketed by the final whistle.

This team, as Alexander rightly points out, do not lack for character.

Four days on from the winning comeback at Doncaster, City dug themselves out of a bigger hole to salvage a point that was hard earned and well deserved.

And had Andy Cook’s late header flown an inch or two lower, we would all be toasting a remarkable seventh straight victory.

If that streak had to come to an end yesterday, the Bantams at least came up just short fighting all the way.

Alexander’s post-match stance was a bit mixed; thrilled with the second half, less impressed with what had gone on before.

But there was also a sense that the manager knew he had got his selection wrong; the one forced change from the previous winning line-up was not the right one.

With Jamie Walker joined on the sidelines by Alex Pattison, who had pulled up right at the end against Doncaster, Alexander had a choice to make between Emmanuel Osadebe and Clarke Oduor.

He went with Osadebe - but it was half-time replacement Oduor who would trigger City’s rescue mission after replacing his ineffective team-mate.

Oduor added a Walker-like threat that had been lacking and popped up with the first goal that breathed belief into the home ranks.

So why did he not get the nod to start?

“It was between him and Manny,” said Alexander. “We knew Jamie wasn’t going to make it, so I went off the training performance between the two games.

“That’s something for me to learn but also, I believe, for Clarke to learn as a good, talented player. Do it every day and you get more opportunities.”

Clarke Oduor fires City back into the game with their first goal (Image: Thomas Gadd.)

The importance of performing just as hard on the training pitch as the stadium stage itself is the manager’s mantra.

But Alexander’s decision to go with the “better trainer” did not pay off on this occasion.

At least, he held up his hand early enough to rectify matters while tweaking tactics to get City to calm down a bit and trust themselves to fight back.

For 45 minutes, it had threatened to be a nightmare after Christmas for the Bantams.

The festive feelgood factor was immediately threatened as Morecambe took advantage of slipshod defending to grab a third-minute lead.

Adam Mayor’s flat free-kick into the box should have been dealt with by the Bantams.

But instead, Cook’s attempted clearance took an unfortunate ricochet off the back of Osadebe’s heel – and became the perfect through ball for James Connolly to slot past Harry Lewis.

For the second game running, City had to clear their heads from conceding an early blow – and again it had been served up in scruffy circumstances.

Tyler Smith was denied an instant response by keeper Adam Smith and then glanced a header wide from Jon Tomkinson’s cross.

But things become doubly difficult on 18 minutes as Morecambe extended their advantage.

Jordan Slew found room on the left wing to draw Matty Platt wide and drilled in a low ball that JJ McKiernan converted at the near post.

Valley Parade was in a state of shock as Osadebe immediately burst into the Morecambe box but found keeper Smith in the way to block the shot behind.

READ MORE: "You've got to have that belief in each other and as a team"

The Morecambe keeper saved comfortably from Tomkinson’s header as the travelling fans taunted about “football in a library”.

There was a stunned air about the home faithful and frustration began to bubble when Osadebe carelessly gave the ball away and almost gifted the visitors another chance to counter.

Two goals to the good, Morecambe were understandably happy to take their time whenever play stopped and that further rankled in the stands.

Lewis Richards summed up the way things were going for City when he clattered the TL Dallas sign at the top of the empty Bradford end with an ambitious 25-yard attempt.

And Morecambe were so nearly three up as half-time approached.

The post prevented Yann Songo from scoring on his Valley Parade return, his flick header from a corner pinging back to taker Eli King, whose follow-up would have sneaked into the far corner without a touch wide off Cook.

The smattering of boos that greeted the half-time whistle were in sharp contrast to the reaction from City’s previous six games.

Osadebe’s half-time disappearance was cheered ahead of the restart as Oduor got his chance.

Morecambe remained dangerous on the counter and Tomkinson needed to be in the right place to deal with Tom Bloxham’s cross after Ciaran Kelly had overrun the ball on halfway.

Oduor saw a shot smack against Tyler Smith as City looked to attack the Kop – and tempers flared again when Cook went over in the penalty area and referee Darren Drysdale, the original Valley Parade "Grinch", ignored the penalty shouts and instead opted to book the number nine for his reaction.

But the Bantams got the foothold they needed just before the hour point through Oduor.

Brad Halliday roars towards the Kop after City's equaliser (Image: Thomas Gadd)

It began with Alex Gilliead, who was full of energy throughout, winning a tenacious tackle in Morecambe’s half.

The ball was worked wide to Halliday and Oduor ran on to Cook’s knockdown to halve the deficit.

The place lifted as City pushed to continue the recovery – and they should have levelled from Richie Smallwood’s inviting free-kick but Matty Platt got too much on his close-range header.

Vadaine Oliver replaced Smith for the last 20 minutes with Valley Parade roaring the Bantams forward to complete the comeback.

The equaliser arrived in the 83rd minute from an unlikely source as Ciaran Kelly’s cross was confidently swept home by Brad Halliday to open his account for the season.

There was still time to chase an improbable winner as Halliday raced into the net to retrieve the ball while urging even more noise from the fans.

And the whole place prepared to celebrate when Lewis Richards then picked out Cook – whose meaty header rocked the Morecambe bar.