Parkinson salutes City tough nuts

City extended their unbeaten run to nine league and cup matches and cemented their position in fifth place in the table, while defeat for County ended their unbeaten away league record - the only one remaining in the top four divisions.

"It was a great win for us," said Parkinson. "We should have scored more - we had some good chances - but after after conceding a late equaliser in our last home match against Scunthorpe the win was good mentally for us and we responded really well in all aspects of the game.

"Physically we looked strong and mentally we looked tough - there was no sign of mental weakness out there."

The Valley Parade pitch, protected from frost by insulated covers, was muddy and became increasingly slippery and Parkinson said: "It was an excellent performance in difficult conditions.

"We have not had a game like that for a while and we came through with flying colours. The energy levels were very good."

Parkinson picked out Liddle, who joined Bradford from Notts County during the summer, for special mention.

He added: "Gary Liddle was immense. He gets in the tackles and headers and covers the ground and our other midfield player Billy Knott not only scored the goal, but when the game opened up he became more confident."

"It was a challenge for us. Notts County were unbeaten on travels and we had our own personal goal.

"We wanted to go to Millwall in the FA Cup third round on Saturday with own our own unbeaten run intact and be in a strong position in the league.

"With our targets completed we can go there and express ourselves and be confident."

Knott scored the decisive goal after 41 minutes following a mix-up on the edge of the penalty area between goalkeeper Roy Carroll and former Bantams winger Garry Thompson.

Andy Halliday picked up the loose ball and cut it back to the unmarked Knott, whose left-footed shot went into the net off the boot of Notts' skipper Hayden Mullins.

Earlier, Halliday was twice off target when well placed, while Knott saw his shot on the turn fly just over the angle of the post and crossbar.

Notts' best first half effort came in the 22nd minute when Jake Cassidy's shot from the edge of the area struck a post after Stephen McLaughlin had laid the ball into his path.

Bradford, who lost defender Andrew Davies with a hamstring injury in the 13th minute, continued to dominate in the second half without being able to add to their lead.

Carroll did well to save from James Hanson and substitute Francois Zoko was inches away from adding a second a goal in stoppage time, while Notts, for all their endeavour, did not have a single shot on target.

County manager Shaun Derry said: "Obviously I am disappointed with the result.

"We have had a fantastic record away from home. It is our main positive of the season, but everything ends at some point.

"It is how you react to that that matters and we have been pretty good at reacting to set-backs this season.

"We gave Bradford a game, but the pitch was absolutely awful. It was going to cause problems and I think Bradford played the conditions better than we did.

"We deserved to get something out of the game. Bradford had more possession than we did, but apart from the goal I didn't see them breaking us down."

Two former Bradford players, skipper Gary Jones and striker Garry Thompson faced their old club for the first time since joining Notts in the summer and Derry added: "The crowd gave them a wonderful reception. It was a good day for them and their families."