BRADFORD CITY boss Mark Hughes rued a lack of ‘control’ as his team settled for a hard-earned point at Grimsby Town.

An exciting yet goalless 90 minutes at Blundell Park could have gone either way – although it was Grimsby who arguably carved out the better openings, with Bradford goalkeeper Harry Lewis producing two fantastic saves during the 0-0 draw.

Bradford striker Andy Cook set his sights with a header on 15 minutes, while Otis Khan saw his low attempt blocked at the other end.

Kieran Green then crashed against the post for Grimsby as both sides went close to opening the scoring in the run up to half-time. Cook nodded agonisingly wide on the stretch, while Harry Clifton passed up a golden opportunity from eight yards.

PLEASING: Bradford City manager Mark Hughes. Picture: Bruce Rollinson

Goalkeepers took centre stage upon the restart as Grimsby stopper Max Crocombe denied Harry Chapman before Harry Lewis clawed out an opportunistic flick from Khan as the game somehow remained goalless.

Both sides pushed and probed for a winner and Grimsby substitute Lewis Richardson nearly found one twice with identical low drives in the closing few minutes.

“It was a little bit too fragmented and end-to-end for my liking. I would have liked a little bit more control.

“We allowed them to cause us too many problems and when those moments come there might be a danger that you concede a goal.

STOP IT: Bradford City goalkeeper Harry Lewis impressed during the 0-0 draw at Grimsby Town. Picture: George Wood/Getty Images

“Overall, it was a good point on the road against a team that’s playing well at the moment. We will take it, but we didn’t quite hit our levels.

“Everybody wants to have a pop at us with our expectation and we should expect it.

“We dealt with that for the most part. With a little bit more care in our final pass, we might have been able to nick that goal.

“Our goalkeeper did his job to keep the ball out of the net as he has been doing all season.”

Grimsby Town: Crocombe,Efete,Waterfall,Smith,Driscoll-Glennon,Green,Kiernan (Morris 46),Holohan (Richardson 79),Clifton,Khan (Maguire-Drew 88),Taylor.Subs Not Used: Hunt,Orsi-Dadomo,Simmonds,Maher.Booked: Kiernan.Bradford: Lewis,Halliday,Platt,Crichlow-Noble,Foulds,Gilliead,Smallwood,Pereira (Angol 54),Chapman (Sutton 71),Wright,Cook (East 83).Subs Not Used: Songo'o,Doyle,Oliver,Harratt.Booked: Wright.Att: 8,020Ref: Martin Coy (County Durham).

Bradford City boss Mark Hughes pleased to see Bantams handling great expectations