Bradford City manager Mark Hughes says Harrogate Town deserve 'credit' for their FA Cup performance against the Bantams

Bradford City manager Mark Hughes, left, and his Harrogate Town counterpart Simon Weaver watch on from the sidelines during Saturday's FA Cup first-round tie at Valley Parade. Pictures: Matt Kirkham

Matty Daly’s eighth-minute strike proved sufficient to extend the Sulphurites’ 100 percent record at Valley Parade as Simon Weaver’s men made it three wins out of three in their derby rivals’ own back yard.

The Bantams were booed off by the home faithful at the final whistle, and while former Manchester City and Wales boss Hughes - a man who won the FA Cup four times himself as a player - admitted that his own side were poor on the day, he also conceded that Town did perform well.

“Credit to Harrogate, who came with a game-plan and executed it really well. They caused us more problems than we caused them,” ex-Manchester United and Barcelona striker Hughes told the Telegraph & Argus.

Matty Daly netted the only goal of the game as Harrogate Town beat Bradford City 1-0 at Valley Parade on Saturday afternoon.

“I just thought we started really slowly for whatever reason and weren’t able to get into our stride. We were slow out the blocks and they scored during that period.

“With a goal to protect, it was perfect for them to just sit back and wait for our mistakes - and unfortunately there were many.

“Everything was a little bit too comfortable for them given it was a Yorkshire derby - but you wouldn’t have noticed that.

“This was a missed opportunity.”

Town chief Weaver felt that the way his players applied themselves out of possession was key to them coming out on top.

He said: “The back-four stayed intact throughout the game, so when the ball was central, the lads really remained very narrow, so they [Bradford] didn’t have that space between the lines and they weren’t able to turn and roll us on the edge of the box either.

“We had to remain focused throughout the game, not switching off, because a quick throw-in cost us last week, but also working on the organisation defensively so we could break it up and counter-attack.

"We did that really well at times, really effectively, we just missed that finishing touch to kill the game off so the dying moments became a bit anxious.”