City 3, Coventry 3

Fat chance of keeping Nahki Wells under the radar then!

The Bermudian sure-shot did more than rescue a late, late point for the Bantams at Valley Parade yesterday with his second City hat-trick.

He also reminded the watching TV audience of his deadly knack in front of goal.

An afternoon that looked like it might belong to Coventry’s rising talent Callum Wilson ended with the name Wells once again on everybody’s lips.

He remained the calmest man on the pitch to thump in a stoppage-time penalty and complete a memorable treble.

His masterful marksmanship doesn’t put everything right. The slackness of City’s defending, which allowed Coventry to make such a fast start, will lead to more sky blue thinking behind the scenes.

Fingers could be pointed at the Bantams backline for all three of the visiting goals. While Andrew Davies made a welcome return to Valley Parade in the press box, now down to one crutch after his knee injury, his team-mates continue to struggle to fill the hole he has left.

But you cannot knock the character of this City team for refusing to give it up, even if it is now seven games since the last win at Walsall. It was a very good point in the end from a pulsating match.

For two sides who dropped out the Premier League together in 2001, recent meetings have been surprisingly sporadic. City’s spiral through the divisions meant it was a decade since their last encounter, when Dean Windass scored the only goal in a Christmas encounter at Valley Parade.

Phil Parkinson used his programme notes to apologise once again for the “very poor” display at Rotherham the week before. The message for his players was crystal clear.

Having considered swinging the axe, he made just one change to the starting line-up as Garry Thompson returned to the right wing in place of Raffaele De Vita. Caleb Folan and Alan Connell were back on the bench.

Parkinson had planned an immediate response – but it could not have started any worse.

There were barely 65 seconds on the clock when Jon McLaughlin and Rory McArdle both went for Carl Baker’s free-kick by the penalty spot. The keeper came to collect but McArdle appeared to head the ball out of his grasp and Coventry centre half Andy Webster gleefully accepted the gift from 15 yards.

If that was not bad enough, City’s afternoon quickly plummeted. McArdle was outpaced by Wilson cutting in from the Coventry left and although McLaughlin managed to block the youngster’s shot, his partner-in-crime Leon Clarke was on hand to make no mistake with the rebound.

McArdle had sat on the Northern Ireland bench in Turkey on Friday night but came through a pre-match work-out to play. But he was having a game to forget and Wilson skipped past him once more to reach a Blair Adams pass and home in on goal.

McLaughlin got something on his shot and watched anxiously as the ball bounced a yard wide of his near post.

As Valley Parade looked on in dismay, City finally snapped out of it. Wells chipped an angled pass into the box, where Kyel Reid stretched to volley over the bar.

The fans, to their credit, stayed onside and would have been celebrating a City opener but for a wonderful save from Joe Murphy. James Hanson did everything right with a far-post header from Stephen Darby’s cross but Murphy plunged low to superbly keep it out.

But City’s momentum found its reward on 17 minutes – and this time Coventry’s keeper was the villain.

Coming five yards outside his penalty area to deal with Reid’s long ball, Murphy found himself in no man’s land under pressure from Hanson. Jordan Clarke then swung and missed and Wells showed great composure to commit covering defender Blair Adams before scoring.

It was the Bermudian’s first goal for two months since a double against Colchester.

The chances continued thick and fast and Coventry could have restored their advantage within seconds. John Fleck twice saw thumping shots charged down by a claret and amber pack as referee Kevin Friend – the same one who sent off Matt Duke in the Capital One Cup final – ignored loud shouts for a penalty.

Then Darby won a huge ovation for a diving header to clear at the far post when Coventry came knocking once more.

You could not take your eyes off the action as City responded once more and the equaliser came before we had even reached the half-hour mark.

James Meredith pumped a free-kick forwards, Hanson won the flick and Wells, who else, latched on to it with an acrobatic volley to finish.

The striker might have been marginally offside when the Australian had sent the ball upfield but City could say the same about Clarke in the build-up to Coventry’s opener.

It was becoming a football feast – unless you were a defender. But that should not come as a surprise, with Coventry’s games averaging more goals each week than anyone else in League One.

Gary Jones rattled the advertising board from City’s first corner but there was another sting in the tail before the break.

Coventry had screamed danger every time they got forward, especially when the ball was at the elusive feet of Wilson.

And the highly-rated youngster restored the Sky Blues’ advantage when he latched on to Carl Baker’s long pass. Wilson held off Matthew Bates to beat McLaughlin from a tight angle with a thumping effort, though the keeper should have done much better.

McArdle tried to make amends for his earlier mistakes with two headers over before the half-time whistle brought temporary respite.

Normal service quickly resumed as Cyrus Christie roared forward from right back before slicing wide, while McLaughlin pushed away a drive from Franck Moussa.

The shoot-out continued. Wells clipped the Coventry bar with a free-kick from the edge of the D, before Wilson stole in behind the home back four once more but skied his shot.

Parkinson switched things around at the three-quarter point, replacing Thompson with Mark Yeates. But Coventry showed no sign of shutting up shop as Moussa, Adams and Clarke all went hunting a fourth.

Yeates set up Hanson for a great chance to level again but the big man was unable to keep his close-range header down. The City sub then turned his creative attentions to Wells but the shot lacked power to stretch Murphy.

It was slipping away from the Bantams as added time went into the fourth minute. But then Jordan Clarke threw a panicky hand at Darby’s cross, Friend pointed to the spot after an agonising wait – and Wells did the rest with a thumping penalty.

Attendance: 14,322