COLLY STRIKE NOT ENOUGH FOR BANTAMS
Leeds controlled the Yorkshire derby in front of a vociferous Valley Parade crowd and against truly horrible weather, but for much of the match could not make the breakthrough - whilst the Bradford players worked as hard as they will all season to hold on to their slender lead - scored in the 21st minute by a player that was considered a risk purchase.
It would, despite the romance of the opening goal from Britain's most enigmatic footballer, have been a travesty if Leeds had not got something from the game, and when Viduka rose to power home a clever Dominic Matteo ball with just over 10 minutes to go, the sigh of relief from the travelling fans was audible.
For much of the second half, Bradford's vocal support had dared to think that maybe they could squeeze a morale boosting win from the game - after a brilliant strike made by the most mercurial attack in England.
There can be little discussion that Collymore, for all his plethora of well publicised faults, is among the deadliest strikers in the Premiership when he turns it on.
But the quality of his debut goal for Bradford must number amongst his best, as the maverick pairing of Benito Carbone and Collymore found themselves combining to breathtaking effect.
Carbone squirmed free down the right hand side after a brilliant one-touch control of an awkward clearance, and fired a cross into the Leeds box.
Collymore, with ball coming at pace behind him, turned away from goal and executed the most perfectly measured of overhead kicks that flew into the left hand side of the goal and gave midweek hero Paul Robinson no chance of another miraculous save.
Leeds had started brightly in the driving rain and, after recovering from the shock of conceding, began to dominate but not penetrate with their attacks.
In Clarke, Bradford have a keeper of the highest quality, but he was twice saved by Ian Nolan when set-pieces were diverted past him.
The first of these chances did look suspiciously like it had already passed into the goal, but the second was a tribute to placing a defender on the goal-line as Matteo's downward header was flicked away by Nolan's thigh.
Oliver Dacourt, showing both sides of his Jeckyll and Hyde nature, was a busy presence through the midfield, but earned himself a silly booking when he went in with both feet on Carbone.
Lee Bowyer had come close in the 12th minute when Clarke tipped over a stinging effort, and Alan Smith perhaps should have done better with a tame effort.
In the 25th minute Collymore, whose one touch play throughout the half showed that he can be a team player, cleverly headed into Gareth Whalley's path only for Jonathon Woodgate to make a timely interception.
Ian Harte, who picked up a very harsh booking earlier in the half, looked threatening from the wing back position, in a previously untried system forced by the multitude of injuries in David O'Leary's side
But aside from a slightly high 39th minute drive that Clarke touched but did not divert, Harte and Leeds could not create the chance they needed to turn domination into a first-half equaliser.
The second -included another 35 minutes of frustration for the Leeds players, as they huffed and puffed but failed to blow the Bradford house down.
Six minutes after the restart Alan Smith went down particularly easily in the box sparking an unsavoury pushing match between the two sides.
10 minutes later, Clarke obstructed on the edge of the area, possibly preventing a goal, and then produced a flying stop from Oliver Dacourt's resulting free-kick.
Viduka curled an effort narrowly wide with Clarke out of position, but the pressure was beginning to take its toll, and with the substitution of Collymore the bubble burst for Bradford, and the Australian finally got the goal he so richly deserved.
Smith, who balances his moments of petulance with glimpses of brilliance, found Matteo in the box and his dinked centre was well converted by a criminally unmarked Viduka, heading the ball into the bottom left corner of Clarke's goal.
The final minutes were an exercise in clinging onto the match, although Dean Saunders did shoot wide after a rare break when a square ball may have produced a first league goal for Ashley Ward.
But Collymore's strike alone deserved a share of the points, and it will be a goal which may go some small way to edging the former Forest star along the path to footballing salvation.
