CITY 1 MILLWALL 0

“WITH eight games to go, you are where you deserve to be in the league.”

Neil Harris was in no doubt afterwards about the play-off credentials of both sides at Valley Parade.

The Millwall boss had just seen his side edged out in the tensest of tussles fought out in unyielding conditions.

It has traditionally not been the happiest of hunting grounds for the Lions – they had not won at City since 2003 when Harris himself bagged a last-minute decider.

His contention that neither team deserved the victory was a moot point; there had been far more urgency about the hosts in the second half as they attacked a Kop willing the ball into the net.

It had not been a pretty spectacle between those ranked fifth and sixth in the table. The wild swirling wind and accompanying rain accounted for that.

But these were a big, big three points for the Bantams.

You could see that in the faces of the players; you could hear that in the noise of the fans; you could tell with the satisfied beam which accompanied Phil Parkinson’s post-match press interviews.

The pack is still bunched up over their shoulder. There remains precious little breathing space.

But City had taken full advantage of their closest rivals slipping up on Good Friday and produced a result that potentially opens up a crack at more than one play-off position.

Suddenly Parkinson’s side are only two points off fourth, even if Gillingham do have a game in hand. Millwall, meanwhile, are just one ahead with tomorrow night’s visit from leaders Burton to come.

By then, of course, City could be sitting pretty above them if they can first dispatch bottom club Crewe. Mention the name Colchester to remind yourselves that “if” is a pretty big word.

But there was a tenacity and doggedness about the team on a tough stage. Saturday was a true test of their mettle.

City had to cope with the loss of their midfield fulcrum as Lee Evans and Josh Cullen both missed out on international duty.

So Parkinson had to go with the untried pairing of new arrival Tom Thorpe and Billy Knott, who was in desperate need of a good game to remind everyone of his undoubted talent.

The conditions were more suited to a Ricky Ravenhill – the classic “head it and hook it” day for those stationed in the no man’s land between defence and attack – than the more cultured approach.

But Knott rolled up his sleeves like the rest and contributed as much as anyone in a significant success. The oft-repeated phrase about the strength in depth in Parkinson’s squad was borne out.

At least City had been able to call upon Reece Burke after some clever managerial negotiation freed him from England under-20s duty.

Burke had played in a private knockabout against Canada on Thursday, watched by chief scout Tim Breacker. The numbers were then crunched and Parkinson worked out that the centre half’s 72 minutes had hardly been more taxing than the usual training session that day.

A conflab with parent club West Ham cleared the way for the teenager to feature at Valley Parade and spare City more upheaval in another crucial department.

After all that, Burke was actually given a bit of a going over by the physicality of Steve Morison, the old-style centre forward who looks much more at home in a Millwall shirt after flopping with Leeds.

But Burke, ably assisted by the excellent Nathan Clarke, stuck to his task and ensured Ben Williams recorded a 16th league clean sheet of the campaign.

It was his 21st in all – from 42 games – and equals a club record set by Steve Smith 36 years ago. That’s some turnaround for a keeper whose days were seemingly numbered when Brad Jones waltzed in.

With just one loss in 13, Millwall were a far cry from the shower under Ian Holloway who had rolled over so meekly in the FA Cup last year.

But they failed to make a serious indent in the home side’s ambitions.

Aiden O’Brien snatched at a decent chance just before the break, the wind not aiding his composure as he scooped over the bar from ten yards.

But Williams was really only called upon once to beat away an angled Morison effort during a wave of desperate late pressure.

Not that City exactly battered down the door on a day when opportunities were strictly limited.

Tony McMahon was a coat of paint away with a free-kick early on before Jamie Proctor appeared to miss the gilt-edged moment when he ushered the midfielder’s cross straight at keeper Jordan Archer from close range.

Proctor, who ran himself into the ground once again, did have the ball in the net from the follow-up but the offside flag was up.

Parkinson pointedly remarked about the “eagle-eyed assistant on the far side” over a few close calls. But he had no argument with team orders being ignored in the afternoon’s decisive moment.

Having just watched Clarke’s wind-assisted throw-in sail first bounce past the post, the City boss shouted for the centre half to deliver another from midway inside the Millwall half.

But instead James Meredith rushed to take and hurled it straight at the unsuspecting Clarke, who reacted to instantly loft a right-footed pass into the mix where Steve Davies nodded through the keeper.

“It was a bit off the cuff,” grinned Clarke. “The gaffer said to try and get the throw-in in that box and cause some havoc, especially when you’ve got (James) Hanson and Davo on the pitch.

“It’s a good weapon to have. But Mezza’s quick-thinking certainly caught them off guard and thankfully it landed straight on Davo’s head.”

It was a fourth goal in six appearances for Davies, all coming off the bench, and he has earned City five points from his cameo interventions.

He may not like the tag of “super sub” but there’s no denying the short-term impact he is making.

Meanwhile, the longer-term implications of this result will only be realised when the next few weeks have played out. But it felt like a significant statement of intent.