Graham Alexander praised Bradford’s “discipline and togetherness” as they made light of Jack Shepherd’s early red card to earn a goalless draw at in-form Newport.
Shepherd was shown a straight red for denying a goalscoring opportunity when he hauled down County striker Courtney Baker-Richardson with only 17 minutes on the clock.
The home side, who had won four in a row before the match, did hit a post through defender Matt Baker, but it was the 10 men who looked most likely to grab a winner.
“I thought it was better than a battling point; I thought we were superb,” said Alexander, whose side climb to third in the table.
“Our discipline out of possession was excellent and we created so many good chances – we should have won the game.
“Newport have hit a really good run of form of late and picked up some really important wins, but I felt we were the team who had the better chances to win it.
Antoni Sarcevic had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside in the first half. But striker Michael Mellon, on loan from Burnley, had Bradford’s best opportunities.
He was twice denied by Exiles goalkeeper Nick Townsend and poked another effort just wide under pressure.
“I’m a bit disappointed we haven’t won, but I’m so proud of that group of players,” added Alexander.
“We had to fight and everything went against us, but we showed discipline and togetherness and that sums up this group of players.
“What a performance – if we hadn’t got anything from the game, it would have been an absolute travesty.”
Newport head coach Nelson Jardim admitted it was a missed opportunity to record a fifth successive win, but he had to make do with extending his side’s unbeaten streak to six games.
“It was a very good point, although it was also frustrating,” said the Portuguese. “We have reached the mark of 40 points, so we are going in the right direction.
“At the beginning we were the better team and created goalscoring chances and also hit the post, but we were up against a team who defend well.
“Bradford concede very few goals and they made it very hard for us. We tried everything – we changed the shape, we changed players – but they defended very well and were also a threat on the counter.
“We always had to find the balance between attacking and making sure we didn’t get caught.
“Overall, it felt that we were more likely to be the winner, but credit to Bradford,” added Jardim.
“We have to focus on being six games unbeaten and it was another clean sheet. It’s another step forward for us.”
David Moyes believes James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid a red card for his reckless challenge on Alexis Mac Allister as Everton were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal, which Moyes claimed should have been ruled out for offside, gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were...
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
Kieran McKenna was not getting too giddy dreaming of a miracle escape from relegation after Ipswich beat Bournemouth 2-1 to pick up their first Premier League win of 2025.Goals from Nathan Broadhead and top-scorer Liam Delap did the damage as Ipswich put a further dent in Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.McKenna, whose side are still nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves who t...
Liverpool re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with Diogo Jota’s strike against Everton settling a second controversial Merseyside derby of the season.Jota’s first league goal since mid-January was potentially one of his most important of the campaign as the 1-0 victory kept second-placed Arsenal at more than arm’s length.It also ended Everton manag...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender