Parkinson praises Zoko

Bradford boss Phil Parkinson was delighted for Francois Zoko after he broke his duck with the only goal of the game against Crawley.

The on-loan Blackpool striker had failed to find the net in 14 appearances for the Bantams dating back to November, although all of those outings had come from the bench. Zoko was handed his first start as Parkinson made seven changes with Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final against Reading in mind, and the 31-year-old marked it with a crucial goal, although he needed a helping hand from Crawley goalkeeper Lewis Price. Mark Yeates sent a hanging cross into the box which Price completely misjudged, allowing Zoko to nod the ball into an unguarded net. His ninth-minute strike proved to be the winner and earned him a rousing reception after the three points were secured. "The lads are delighted for Zoko and it was great that when he came back into the dressing room they were all genuinely pleased for him," Parkinson said. "He's been great around the squad when it's not been going great for him in terms of not getting the goal. "But we said to him, 'keep working hard and doing the right things'. He's got a goal record and it will do him the world of good. "Sometimes you earn that bit of luck and with Francois' performance he certainly earned it." The narrow win got Bradford's Sky Bet League One play-off bid back on track after a run of three games without victory. City now sit just one point off the top six with a game in hand on their nearest rivals. Parkinson felt the three points were all that mattered ahead of the club's huge cup clash, particularly given the continued problems with the Valley Parade pitch. "The staff have worked very hard to get the game on tonight because we needed it for many reasons, the main one being we wanted to get back to winning ways," he said. "That gives us a huge boost going into the weekend." Crawley interim manager Dean Saunders described the surface as "horrendous", but felt his side did enough on it to leave West Yorkshire with at least a point. The relegation-threatened Reds were unbeaten in three going into the contest and they went close twice late on through captain Izale McLeod. "That's the best we've played since I've been here," Saunders said. "It's obviously a goalkeeping error with the goal - it was a freak goal. These things happen. "I've just said well done to all of them. We've come to Bradford, who have beaten Chelsea, Sunderland and Millwall, and have some really good players, and we should have got something from the game. "We had chances, loads of possession, played some football and competed. I'm really pleased with them, but sometimes you don't get what you deserve."