Graham Alexander was pleased with Bradford’s character as they fought back to salvage a 2-2 draw with Morecambe.
The Bantams, who had won their previous six games in all competitions, trailed 2-0 at half-time at Valley Parade.
But Clarke Oduor and Brad Halliday scored in the second half to rescue a point.
Boss Alexander said: “Over the course of a season you’re going to be challenged in many different ways and face many different hurdles.
“But you’ve got to have the belief in each other and as a team that there is the ability and quality to do whatever it takes to win a game of football.
“We showed that in the second half. There were some really professional performances and we didn’t give them anything.
“We had three or four really good chances – we took two of them and missed a couple we’d probably score on another day.
“We knew we weren’t going to win every week between now and the end of the season.
“It’s about taking whatever we can when it’s there on offer. I was okay with a point.”
Morecambe had gone ahead after three minutes when Adam Mayor’s free-kick was not cleared by the home defence allowing James Connolly to score.
JJ McKiernan increased their lead and former Bradford midfielder Yann Songo’o headed against the crossbar.
Bradford’s comeback began when substitute Oduor finished off Brad Halliday’s cross. Halliday then levelled before Andy Cook was denied a third by the woodwork.
“It was a brilliant finish from Brad,” added Alexander. “Ciaran Kelly put in a great ball and he’s really committed to getting into goalscoring positions and took it well.
“We can’t just rely on Andy Cook to score and we haven’t done that today.”
Morecambe manager Ged Brannan hid his disappointment to praise his side’s defensive efforts.
Brannan said: “It was a great game to watch from the sidelines. I really enjoyed it.
“We dominated the first half and could have gone in four or five up. I was absolutely delighted.
“I love the way we’re improving all the time and I’d say that was our best performance since I’ve been at the club.
“But we knew second half they were going to come back at us and we needed to defend.
“We conceded at a bad time in the game and then the crowd helped them get back in.
“Our lads were brilliant second half and dug in really well. We haven’t had that before with that many crosses coming in.
“You could see our lads tiring because they had worked ever so hard first half.
“You come away with a 2-2 draw at Bradford on Boxing Day and you’ll take that. But obviously we’re a bit disappointed from 2-0 up.”
No Neymar return until 2025, says Al-Hilal boss Jesus
Neymar will not return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury until January 2025 at the earliest, Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has warned.
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in a €90million deal in August 2023, becoming one of the faces of the Saudi Pro League's major recruitment drive.
However, he only played five matches for the club before rupturing his ACL while on international duty with Brazil last October.
The 32-year-old subsequently missed the remainder of the season as well as the Selecao's ill-fated Copa America campaign, and he remains some way away from a return.
Neymar was removed from Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League squad in September, with the 19-time champions only able to register a maximum of eight foreign players for the first half of the season.
Reports had suggested Neymar was close to a return after Al-Hilal posted footage of him training on social media, but Jesus says Brazil's all-time leading scorer must wait until the halfway point of the campaign before being considered.
"Neymar is an important player for Al Hilal and the league in general," Jesus told reporters on Tuesday.
"I can't, however, specify a date as to when he will return, but we will look at the situation in January."
With no restrictions on foreign players featuring in the AFC Champions League, Neymar could, in theory, play in that competition if he returns to fitness before January.
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King's Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King's Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
Al-Bukayriyah 0-1 Al-Hilal: Leonardo sends defending King Cup champions through
Marcos Leonardo's first-half penalty was enough to book Al-Hilal a spot in the King Cup round of 16 with a 1-0 win over Al-Bukayriyah.
The defending champions dominated from the start, with Abdullah Al Hamddan and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic both seeing early efforts saved by Dziugas Bartkus.
Al Hamddan then won the game-winning spot-kick in the 40th minute, being brought down in the box by Ibrahim Al Sunaytan, and Leonardo made no mistake from 12 yards.
Al-Hilal kept pushing for another goal, with substitutes Renan Lodi and Aleksandar Mitrovic both testing Bartkus in the second half, but they could not add to the scoreline.
Neymar, who is gearing up for his return to action after a year on the sidelines, was not involved for Al-Hilal, who lead the way in the Saudi Pro League.
Data Debrief: Leonardo proves the difference
Al-Hilal were dominant in the first half, completely overwhelming their opponents as they had 12 of their 17 shots before the break, getting five of those on target.
But across the 90 minutes, it was Leonardo who was the standout, having the second-most shots (three) and accumulating 0.82 expected goals (xG).
His only shot on target may have been the winning penalty, but he proved a handful as he also had the most touches in the opposition box (10).
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