Sheffield United stepped up their promotion bid with a victory which pushes
Yorkshire rivals Bradford closer towards the Second Division.
Two goals in two second-half minutes in a game dominated by the gale-force
conditions were enough for Neil Warnock's side to extend their unbeaten run to
four matches.
It is now 10 points out of 12 for the Blades who took full advantage of West
Brom's postponed clash with Stoke to move within eight points of the
second-placed Baggies.
The Blades' bid for an automatic promotion spot remains a long shot, but with
four of their next six matches at Bramall Lane, they cannot be discounted from
the shake up.
Bantams boss Bryan Robson, though, continues to stare at the prospect of
relegation.
For an hour City battled gamely as they looked to extend their own three-match
unbeaten streak, and they could perhaps have considered themselves favourites
for at least another point after overcoming the howling gales during the first
half.
Those winds were almost certainly replaced by a blast of hot air from Warnock
during the break after hearing his side booed off the pitch when the half-time
whistle sounded.
Although former United striker Dean Windass, skippering Bradford in the
absence of the injured David Wetherall, won arguably an important coin toss and
chose to kick into the wind, Warnock was within his rights to expect an
onslaught.
But it failed to materialise, with United failing to put goalkeeper Clint
Davies under any pressure as the 20-year-old made his full debut.
Robson had been forced to turn to Davies with Alan Combe suspended, Mark
Paston injured and Nico Vaesen, who had played the last six games while on loan
from Birmingham, now with Crystal Palace.
Davies, perhaps fearing the worst, instead made just one save, and that did
not arrive until nine minutes from the interval with Michael Tonge firing a
20-yard drive into the rookie's midriff.
Tonge had earlier been given a free-kick opportunity in the 12th minute after
Peter Atherton had been booked for bringing down Jack Lester, but his attempt
was ballooned into The Kop.
Remarkably, it was the Bantams who came closest to forcing the opener as they
battled gamely in the face of the gale, with Wales international Paul Evans
almost making Warnock grimace.
Evans first came close in the 20th minute with a left-foot curler which nearly
deceived Kenny, while four minutes from the break he thundered a volley from 20
yards inches past Kenny's right-hand post.
The jeers which greeted the United players as they trudged off should have
acted as a spur, but for the opening 15 minutes the home side continued to
struggle as they tried to overcome the conditions.
Then came a vital double substitution as Warnock brought off Nick Montgomery
and Dries Boussatta, replacing them with Izale McLeod and Jonathan Forte, and it
was the latter's surging run within seconds of his introduction which led to him
winning a vital corner.
Tonge played a short ball to former City star Stuart McCall, and his return
was swung in by the left winger for Chris Morgan to plant a stooping header
beyond Davies for his first league goal since his free-transfer summer move from
Barnsley.
Two minutes later and the points were sealed with Lester capitalising on a
mistake by Mark Bower to curl beyond an advancing Davies his 14th goal in 28
appearances this season.
Teams
Sheff Utd: Kenny, Phil Jagielka, Page, Morgan, Kozluk,
Montgomery (Forte 58), McCall (Allison 82),
Boussatta (McLeod 59), Tonge, Gray, Lester.
Subs Not Used: Shaw, Wright.
Goals: Morgan 60, Lester 62.
Bradford: Davies, Jacobs, Atherton, Bower, Heckingbottom,
Summerbee, Kearney, Evans, Emanuel, Windass,
Branch (Wolleaston 70).
Subs Not Used: Forrest, Muirhead, Rhodes, Edds.
Booked: Atherton.
Att: 20,052
Ref: P Joslin (Nottinghamshire).
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