Walsall 1

Bradford City 1

It's just as well that Paul Merson is a better player than manager.

He hardly put a foot wrong on the Bescot pitch against City on Saturday.

But Merson knew he'd boobed when he named the team - and left himself on the bench.

The Walsall player-boss admitted it took him only 15 minutes of the game to realise his blunder but waited until half-time to rectify it.

The Bantams know from past experience that Walsall with Merson pulling the strings are ten times better than without him.

They didn't need a reminder but got one any way as the former England ace inspired a home fightback which saw three away points reduced to one. The draw left City entrenched in 11th spot and still trailing in the wake of the play-off places.

It proved a tough baptism for 20-year-old Craig Bentham, sent on for his debut for the last half- hour with the job of shadowing Merson.

Bentham's souvenir was a yellow card for one crude lunge. Merson reacted with a finger-wagging but he knew from that point the battle was won.

"I wanted the lad booked as early as possible when he man-marked because that's him out of the game," he said afterwards. Welcome to the big league.

Colin Todd, though, felt that Bentham had stuck to his task.

"Craig relishes things like that so it wasn't a problem," he said. "If I felt he couldn't have done it, then I wouldn't have put him on.

"Merson made a big difference and I had to do something but I do believe the change in tactics nullified them."

Before Merson's intervention, City looked well on course for a much-needed victory from a gritty away display.

Walsall may have had most of the ball and dominated the shot count but the visitors soaked it up well.

The best compliment you could pay about the defence was that David Wetherall was not missed. Peter Atherton slipped into the middle and revelled in familiar ground while rookie right back John Swift settled well defensively while also showing a decent eye for a pass.

But the outstanding performer was Mark Bower, who shook off the absence of his regular central partner to dominate everything. The 25-year-old seemed to be everywhere in the City box with several goal-saving blocks and timely tackles.

And when Walsall did get through, they found Paul Henderson his usual top-notch self. England under-18 striker Matty Fryatt, in particular, could find no way past the Aussie and he must have had half-a-dozen attempts.

With a solid defensive base to build on, City had snatched the lead after 20 minutes with their first shot at goal.

Steve Schumacher has been itching to get back on the scoresheet and he did so in style. Having seen his own run checked by Simon Osborn five yards outside the penalty area, the midfielder bent the free-kick round the wall and into the bottom corner.

Merson was unhappy with keeper Joe Murphy's positioning but it was still a quality strike from Schumacher. On a personal note, he also pulled level on four goals with Wetherall, who watched admiringly from the press box.

City protected the lead until the break as Henderson plunged low to smother Fryatt's downward header. But they were probably worth the advantage, and in Schumacher, Ben Muirhead and new boy Marc Bridge-Wilkinson also offered the threat of scoring again the break.

Six minutes after the restart - and before Merson had found his passing feet - City very nearly did.

The wingers had switched sides and when Bridge-Wilkinson's cross from the left brushed off Zigor Aranalde's head, the ball fell invitingly for Muirhead, who screwed the shot wide from 15 yards.

Another good chance beckoned as Bridge-Wilkinson linked well with Craig Armstrong in a surge down the left touchline. Bridge-Wilkinson pulled the ball back for Dean Windass, whose first-time effort shaved the bar.

But Merson was becoming more and more of an influence on proceedings. Flitting from left to right, as he had done so effectively at Valley Parade, the player-boss was involved in every Walsall attack.

So too was flying substitute Daryl Taylor, who had made a terrible start by letting the first two passes he received run under his foot. But the 17-year-old kept his head up and started to cause problems with his explosive bursts of pace.

Taylor was clipped by Swift in the build-up to the 72nd-minute equaliser, which inevitably involved Merson.

City rode the initial pressure from the resulting free-kick until Merson got the ball back to the left of the box. His cross was perfect and centre half Neil Emblen rose from the crowd to glance it into the far corner.

Bentham's immediate booking reduced his effectiveness as Merson's minder, leaving the former England man free to roam relatively unhindered.

It looked like a backs-to-the-wall finish for City, whose own passing lacked the crispness of the first half as Windass and Andy Cooke were left to hunt for scraps up front.

But they could have restored the lead during a brighter patch that conjured up two opportunities.

The first sprang from Schumacher's break to set up Cooke, whose shot was turned behind for City's first corner - after 77 minutes. Windass rattled the woodwork with a volley from it but the flag was up for a push.

And another Schumacher raid threatened to undo the Saddlers three minutes later. Cooke took his pass by the penalty spot and laid it back to Bridge-Wilkinson, whose clean strike whistled agonisingly the wrong side of the post.

Walsall hit back with that man Fryatt being denied for the umpteenth time by that man Henderson. Osborn fired wide from another Merson lay-off and City survived two stoppage-time corners to prevent an unwanted sequel to Blackpool's late winner.