Neil Young was left scratching his head as to how Chester FC failed to record the win that would have equalled an 87-year-old club record.
The table-toppers leaders laid siege to the Bradford Park Avenue in the second half of Saturday’s Horsfall Stadium clash.
But thanks to a mixture of inspired goalkeeping, poor finishing and bad luck, they were unable to stretch their Blue Square Bet North winning run to 13 matches.
The 0-0 draw meant Young’s side missed out on matching the club’s record for consecutive league victories set between November 1925 and February 1926.
It also ensured their lead over second-placed Guiseley was cut to 13 points.
Baffled Blues boss Young said: “I can’t believe we didn’t win the game.
“We had two goals disallowed – the second one we believe incorrectly – and missed a penalty, numerous one-on-ones as well as hitting the post.
“It was just one of those days and I’ve got to give great credit to the players. It was a very difficult surface and they worked very hard but just couldn’t get over the line.”
Chester’s best chance came in the 57th minute when Matty McGinn saw his penalty saved by John Lamb.
The heroic Bradford goalkeeper went on to make superb stops from Dave Hankin, McGinn and Marc Williams.
And when Lamb was beaten, the woodwork and linesman’s flag came to his rescue.
Young was angry that a header, scored late on by substitute Williams, was ruled out.
He added: “Unfortunately we will go away talking about officials. I think there were six or seven bookings in the game and in my opinion there shouldn’t have been one.
“You’ve got to take the conditions into consideration. It was a blood-and-thunder football match and lads are going to get stuck in.”
As well as ending their 12-game winning run, the result marked the first time the Blues have failed to score in a league fixture since August 2011 – a remarkable sequence stretching back 62 matches.
That the records were ruined by Bradford comes as no surprise.
The West Yorkshire outfit won last season’s corresponding fixture with a last-minute wonder goal and then strengthened their claim to be Chester’s bogey team when they defended heroically to earn a point in this season’s reverse fixture at the Exacta Stadium in October.
That made them the last side to take points off the Blues going into Saturday's game.
Chester, who are now unbeaten in 15 in the league, return to action on Wednesday at home to Oxford City (7.45pm).
