Words John Edwards | Pictures Jonathan Moore

Altrincham 0 Bradford City 0

That's it, then. Pre-season done for another year, and next up it's the serious stuff as Altrincham launch another Vanarama National League campaign against Woking at The J.Davidson Stadium in seven days' time.

The Robins wrapped up their pre-season programme with a keenly-contested draw on a sun-drenched afternoon, and while they might ideally have liked a resounding victory to take with them into next Saturday's league curtain-raiser, there was plenty of encouragement to be drawn from a highly-competitive 90 minutes.

As was the case when Salford City visited us a week last Tuesday, the Robins matched opposition from League Two in a way that suggested they are ready for the challenge of continuing to rub shoulders with the very best the National League have to offer.

Bradford may have edged possession in the early stages, but it was Alty who fashioned the first shooting opportunity after Max Haygarth latched on to a pass from Justin Amaluzor and drew a foul after feigning to cross the ball but instead turning cleverly inside his marker.

The fifth-minute free-kick was from an inviting position on the right side of the penalty area, but after Alex Newby rolled the ball to him, Haygarth blazed his shot high and wide.

An effort by Amaluzor in the 14th minute, after some precise, purposeful build-up play in midfield, was much more like it.

The winger cut inside a defender to make room for a fiercely-struck drive that would surely have tested Sam Walker but for hitting one of the keeper's team-mates and bouncing to safety.

As Alty grew in confidence, play was increasingly being directed towards an open end bathed in sunshine and well populated by almost 500 travelling Bradford fans, though the visitors finally mustered an attempt on goal in the 21st minute when Jamie Walker drilled a half-volley wide of the right-hand post.

They also had strong penalty appeals waved away just before the half-hour mark, though Alty were continuing to retain possession in an assured fashion and cause problems for Graham Alexander's side in and around their area.

For all that, the first half remained goalless, but Haygarth could count himself unlucky when, after being set up by Joe Nuttall, he hammered a shot that looked goalbound until thudding into a defender.

Andy Cook flashed a 48th-minute header over the bar, but it was Alty who strung together the best move of the second half's early exchanges in the 56th minute.

Newby and Lewis Banks combined well on the right and picked out Haygarth in space inside the area for a cut-back that gave Nuttall the chance to fire a first-time shot straight at Bantams keeper Walker.

Bradford had their moments, but a couple of crucial blocks by James Jones kept them at bay as Alty wound up an impressive pre-season programme with another creditable draw against EFL opposition.

Altrincham Ross; Banks (Bailey, 88'), E.Jones (Golden, 64'), J.Jones, Cooper, Osborne (c) (Wilson, 69'), Newby (Thompson, 83'), Crawford (Hussain, 88'), Haygarth (German, 77'), Amaluzor (Weaver, 77'), Nuttall (Reddin, 64'). Subs not used: Fallon.

Bradford S.Walker; Halliday (Richards, 64'), Byrne (Smallwood, 64'), J.Walker (Sarcevic, 76'), Cook (Oliver, 64'), Smith (Gilliead, 64'), Baldwin, Pattison (c) (Kavanagh, 64'), Wright (Shepherd, 64'), Kelly, Pointon. Subs not used: Stubbs, Odour, Doyle, Young.

Referee Martin Woods

Attendance 1,106 (488 away)

Next Up

The new Vanarama National League season has arrived - we welcome Woking to The J.Davidson Stadium next Saturday at 3pm, with gates and the Fan Zone open from 1:30pm.

Tickets are available here. Hospitality is on sale here. Season tickets can be found here.

Many thanks to Nigel Swinbank for being Match Sponsor - if you'd like to sponsor the Match Ball head here.