BILLY Clarke paid tribute to City’s medical team after notching his first goal since returning from injury in Saturday’s 2-0 home win against Crewe.

The Irish striker, who led the way with 14 goals last season, was sidelined for two and a half months after damaging his knee in the opening home game against Shrewsbury.

Clarke is now fully fit and he marked his first league start since his return with a fine individual second-half strike as the Bantams moved to within one place of the top six.

After scoring his goal, Clarke ran towards the bench to celebrate with physios Matt Barrass and Chris Royston, whose expert care has helped him to recover from the injury.

Clarke said: “It is nice when you score on your first league start after injury and I feel it is reward for all the hard work I’ve put in because it has been a tough few weeks.

“The medical team have been with me throughout the injury and they have been top drawer, so it’s nice for them and I ran straight over to them and thanked them.

“Matt Barrass and Chris Royston have helped me a lot and, while it has been tough, I have come back from worse injuries before.

“I just knew I would have to work hard and eventually I would be fit.”

Gary Liddle headed home the opening goal on the stroke of half-time and Clarke’s strike shortly before the hour mark sealed the win.

City are now unbeaten in their last seven league outings and have racked up five victories during that sequence.

Clarke added: “I thought we dominated the game really, apart from a ten or fifteen-minute spell in the second half, and we created a lot of chances.

“It could have been more than 2-0. As a side it has taken us a while for us to gel because we’ve brought a lot of new faces in and we’ve had some tough injuries as well.

“We’ve tried not letting it affect us but I’m sure it has a bit of an effect.

“We’ve been really good in the last seven games and there is no reason why we can’t keep going.

“No-one is running away with it this year and we’ve nearly played everyone now, so we don’t see why we can’t be right up there.”

Crewe struggled to handle Clarke at times as he dropped into space to collect possession and create openings.

The 27-year-old was delighted with his goal and added: “I think the relentless pressure we put on them helped.

“It puts the opposition on the back foot and the attacking team on the front foot.

“A half chance came to me and I think I’ve slotted it under the keeper’s legs.

“Getting in pockets of space is probably the best part of my game.

“Defenders don’t want to come in and midfielders don’t want to step back.

“Players like Gary (Liddle) and Billy (Knott) have got unbelievable quality themselves.

“It does put doubts in people’s minds and we’ve got such a mixture of attacking players in our team.”

Attention now turns to Wednesday’s FA Cup first-round replay at home to Aldershot.

Clarke added: “It’s a big game for both sides. We are possibly the biggest team in the competition at the moment.

“Aldershot will come here with a ‘nothing to lose’ attitude and will relish playing against us. We’re going to give them our best.”