Bradford City have jumped up to seventh in League One after securing a 2-0 win over Yorkshire rivals Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat Stadium this evening.
The home side had a chance inside the opening minute when a quick attack left Jonson Clarke-Harris lining up a shot inside the box, but the on-loan striker could only fire wide.
Clarke-Harris wanted a spot kick later in the first half as he collided with Stephen Darby when the duo both went up for the same high ball, but the referee was not interested in the Doncaster player's shouts.
Clear-cut chances were scarce for the visitors, but James Hanson came close to putting them ahead when he met a Filipe Morais cross, although his header failed to find the target.
Clarke-Harris continued to cause problems in the air, twice attempting to head in from corners again before the half-time whistle, but the Rotherham United man, who is with Doncaster for the rest of the season, could not force the keeper into action.
Doncaster were punished for not taking their first-half chances shortly after the restart as Bradford opened the scoring through Gary MacKenzie, with the defender smashing the ball in for his first goal for the club after the hosts failed to clear a corner.
Dean Furman could have levelled the scores just a few minutes later when he tried to squeeze the ball beneath the crossbar, but a stretching Ben Williams did just enough to tip it behind.
Bradford soon started to dominate the possession though, and almost doubled the lead when Billy Knott jumped highest to meet a corner delivery, forcing Stephen Bywater to tip the ball behind.
Phil Parkinson's side did add a second a couple of minutes later as Hanson sent a high ball forward for Billy Clarke, leaving the striker to pick out the top left corner with a powerful finish from 20 yards out.
Liam Mandeville tried to give Doncaster some late hope as he attempted to slice the ball in from a tight angle in the final couple of minutes, but Williams was alert to the danger.
Bradford made sure that there was no late comeback as they added a third deep in stoppage time, Tony McMahon unleashing a long-range strike after Bywater slipped while off his line, leaving the Bradford man to capitalise.
The result leaves Bradford just outside the playoff places with a game in hand over some of the sides above them, while Doncaster stay 12th in the table.
Sian Cowper
