Ryan Farrell praised his side's work ethic and resilience, after City’s Under-18s progressed to the third round of the FA Youth Cup with a penalty shoot-out victory over Chester.
City had to come from behind to take the tie to extra-time at the Deva Stadium, before beating their hosts in the shoot-out to set up a third-round trip to Chelsea.
Farrell was frustrated with the young Bantams' “lack of identity”, but was proud of their reaction to threaten Chester in the second half and force the game to extra-time and penalties.
He said: “I am proud of the players for getting through the game. We made hard work of it, but they applied themselves very well.
“To get through extra-time and penalties shows real character and resilience to win.
“In the first half, we lacked our identity. It was, perhaps, the occasion or the environment we were in. In the first half, we lacked that competitiveness and intensity.
“We got a better reaction after half-time and created more chances in possession. It was a game of two halves, but we showed our identity in the end.”
Farrell concluded he felt the prospect of playing Chelsea in the next round had put more pressure on tonight’s challenge, but overall insisted his young City side needed a “humble” and modest mentality to successfully navigate past Chester.
City's Lead PDP Coach admitted playing against the category one giants will give his side “so much experience”, as he aims to show how well the academy’s culture and identity can pair against an “elite” side.
“Chelsea was always at the back of our mind tonight,” he added.
“We had to park that and see out the game. The pressure was on us, as Chester were also fighting for the Chelsea tie too. It was the same for both sides.
“We had to be humble and focus on this game entirely. I am just happy the lads got the job done.
“Playing Chelsea will give the players so much experience. Individually, and collectively, they are elite.
“We want to show our culture and our work ethic. It is going to be a big, big challenge for us. We will give it all we have got.
“Hopefully, we can cause an upset. We just cannot wait for the tie now.”