City contested a respectable 1-1 draw with Sky Bet Championship outfit Wigan Athletic in their fifth pre-season outing of the 2019/20 campaign.
The Bantams took the lead through James Vaughan, though Wigan responded after the break to salvage something from the contest.
The hosts made a solid start to the opening period - going toe-to-toe with their second-tier counterparts - and were rewarded with the opening goal 36 minutes in.
After being played in behind by Kelvin Mellor, Clayton Donaldson was brought to the ground inside the area by Wigan defender Danny Fox.
Vaughan stepped up and made no mistake from the spot, firing high into the top-right corner to give City the lead.
The visitors came out stronger after the interval and it did not take them long to pull level.
Pilkington found space in behind the home defence two minutes after the restart and beat Richard O’Donnell to make it 1-1.
City responded with a decent spell, however.
Jordan Gibson went close on a couple of occasions before Gary Bowyer introduced 11 fresh players from the bench, just after the hour mark.
The closing stages calmed somewhat, as honours remained even.
Bowyer’s men continue their pre-season preparations with a trip to neighbours Bradford (Park Avenue) on Tuesday (July 23, 7.30pm).
CITY: Richard O’Donnell (Sam Hornby 64’); Kelvin Mellor (Adam Henley 64’), Anthony O’Connor (Tyler French 64’), Ben Richards-Everton (Steve Solvet 64’), Jackson Longridge (Joe Riley 64’); Sean Scannell (Connor Wood 64’), Hope Akpan (Nortei Nortey 64’), Matt Palmer (Danny Devine 64’), Jordan Gibson (Omari Patrick 64’); Clayton Donaldson (Eoin Doyle (c) 64’), James Vaughan (c) (Connor Morris 64’). Subs: (not used): Eliot Goldthorp, Hayden Smethurst.
GOALS: Vaughan (36’ pen).
LATICS: David Marshall; Nathan Byrne, Danny Fox, Chey Dunkley, Antonee Robinson; Anthony Pilkington, Samy Morsy (c), Lee Evans, Michael Jacobs; Kai Naismith; Joe Garner. Subs: Jamie Jones (GK), Lewis Macleod, Josh Windass, Gary Roberts, Leo Da Silva Lopes, Cedric Kipre, Callum Lang, Joe Gelhardt, Jensen Weir.
GOALS: Pilkington (47’).
REFEREE: Graham Salisbury.