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Humes pleased with clean sheet

Image: Phil Parkinson: Happy with a point

Colchester manager Tony Humes was pleased to see his improving side register another clean sheet after a 0-0 home draw with Bradford.

The U's had the better of the opportunities in a close contest but had to settle for a point and are becoming tough to beat under Humes following his appointment as Joe Dunne's successor at the start of the month. Humes said: "It was a good solid performance and we were patient. "It was really pleasing to keep a clean sheet and that's three in four games now. "The first half was a really cagey, cat-and-mouse affair and neither side gave anything away. "In the second half, we put a few different things in place and I thought the players took it on really well. "Bradford defended really well and were very compact, which is what we expected, but we got more success in the second half. "Their goalkeeper made some good saves and at least we had some opportunities and some efforts on target. "It's a case of building the players' belief in what we're doing, trying to pass the ball and feeling comfortable in doing that. "It's about adding a bit more movement and a bit more tempo and you can see we're getting our reward for that." Bradford goalkeeper Jason Pickford denied both Sanchez Watt and George Moncur early on, while Freddie Sears hit the side-netting with an effort later in the first half. Mark Yeates tested Colchester goalkeeper Sam Walker early in the second period, but Moncur's shot flashed wide and Sears' effort was cleared off the line by Bradford skipper Stephen Darby as the contest opened up. Pickford foiled Sears' low effort at his near post, but the Bantams defended well and the spoils were shared. Bradford boss Phil Parkinson said: "We've taken four points out of six from the two away games we've had and we're very pleased with that return. "To follow the win at MK Dons with a point here was good, considering the fact that we have three or four key players missing. "I think if you took three or four players out of any team at this level they'd struggle, but the players who have come in have been excellent. "It was good to keep a clean sheet away from home and there were some great things to come out of the game, like Darby clearing off the line and Liddle running back 60 yards to win a tackle in his own box. "That was absolutely outstanding and they're the kind of situations that give me great heart. "We saw last year when we played them in the Youth Cup final what good young players they have." Breaking news, transfer gossip, line ups and goal alerts from your football club - delivered direct to your mobile. Sign up for Sky Sports Alerts

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