MARK Hughes felt City delivered the right response in their “comfortable” Valley Parade win over Crewe today.
Jamie Walker scored on his return from injury as the Bantams bounced back after Morecambe.
The 1-0 victory over previously-unbeaten Alex was no classic but Hughes was happy with the improvement from last week – and a first clean sheet.
“We asked for a reaction and that’s what we got,” he said.
“I thought we were quite comfortable for the most part.
“They had a little bit of possession in the first half but that’s how they play and you expect that.
“They’ve had a good start, so they had a bit of confidence coming into the game.
“I don’t think we were anxious at any point. You’ve just got to keep your shape, get people in the right positions and they’re not able to pass the ball through you.
“They had a couple of opportunities but we had chances ourselves and deserved the goal. Then second half, I thought we saw out the game quite comfortably
“They obviously had a go late on and Harry (Lewis) made a good save. Apart from that, I can’t think of anything of too much note they were able to produce second half.
“Defensively we were strong and looked a threat on the break as well.”
Walker had missed two games after taking a whack on his ankle in the last home outing against Colchester. Hughes made a late call to start him and was delighted with his 80-minute appearance.
The City boss added: “Jamie doesn’t say much and does his talking on the pitch.
“Training-wise, he was excellent so that was the message he was sending that he was ready to go if needed.
“I felt he could start. I didn’t think he would finish and he was a little bit sore coming off the pitch.
“But he got his goal and had an impact once again.
“Of the players that weren’t available or selected against Morecambe, Jamie was probably the one we missed the most.
“He gives us that trigger, that aggressiveness and that ability to close people down quickly and get blocks in.”
Defenders Ciaran Kelly (cramp) and Daniel Oyegoke (tight groin) both came off during the second half.
Hughes said: “We erred on the side of safety. We’ve got a game coming up Tuesday so it’s important we get everybody ready to go again.
“We might have a few fallers on the back of today but we’ll see when they rock up Monday.”
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