Walsall hold on for vital point to end relegation fears

Walsall gained the point they needed to secure their Sky Bet League One status with a 1-1 draw at Bradford.The match was preceded by a minute's silence in memory of the 56 people who died in the Valley Parade fire in May 1985 and both captains laid wreaths.Walsall took the lead in the 22nd minute with a smart, opportunist goal. George Dobson won the ball in the Bradford penalty area and tried a left-foot shot. The ball appeared to be going wide of the far post, but Amadou Bakayoko dived forward to head it into the net.Bradford equalised on the stroke of half-time following a move involving the two players on-loan from Burton. Former England international Stephen Warnock, who is retiring at the end of the season, crossed from the left for the unmarked Matty Lund to score with a close-range header.Bradford came closest to grabbing a winner in an improved second-half performance. Winger Jordan Gibson fired just wide of the far post in the 56th minute after receiving a through pass from Shay McCartan just two minutes after coming on as substitute.Tim Dieng and Callum Guy had shots blocked and Charlie Wyke saw a header saved, but the nearest they came to scoring was in the 62nd minute when goalkeeper Liam Roberts made a stunning save to keep out a superb 20-yard shot from McCartan. The ball came out to Tony McMahon but he fired over the crossbar.