It needs more than a fluffed penalty or two to rattle Dean Windass.

Weaker characters might have buckled after successive spot-kick failures.

But Windass, as we all know, is made of sterner stuff. And aren't City grateful for that.

The veteran showed no hangover from his blunder in the Carlisle United shoot-out as he tucked away his fourth goal of the campaign.

His 76th-minute leveller also chalked up another personal landmark for Windass - it was his 150th league goal in England.

More importantly, his well-taken strike preserved the unbeaten home record after a stodgy afternoon for the Bantams.

This was not a repeat of the free-flowing football that has swept all before them this season. Certainly for the first half at least, City were a shadow of that side.

But, as Colin Todd rightly pointed out afterwards, the result once again revealed the steely streak and determination that his squad have in abundance.

For the third game in a row at the Bradford & Bingley Stadium, they went a goal down. And City stuck to their task to get out of jail - as they had done against Bristol City and Gillingham.

Unfortunately the equaliser came too late for them to notch a third come-from-behind win. Another ten minutes or so and the Millers might well have cracked.

Alan Knill was happy with his point and there was no disputing his verdict that Rotherham were well on top up to half-time. They are certainly not a bottom-placed side - in real terms, Rotherham have now notched up seven points - and given the filip of scoring first, confidence surged.

It also gave them the perfect excuse to shut up shop which they did by presenting City with two banks of four midfielders and defenders and challenging them to find a way through.

Knill had done his preparation by realising the threat of widemen Jermaine Johnson and Lee Holmes. So he shut down the supply lines by double or even triple-teaming the wingers whenever they got a sniff of the ball.

Todd admitted: "We have to have different options at times. Any team who wants to come here and make it an open game will have problems but Rotherham had done their homework."

With the usually productive wings blocked off, City looked predictable and short of attacking ideas in a poor opening half when they only managed one shot.

That came four minutes before the break, in what has become their most prolific patch in previous matches, when Windass forced a fine finger-tip save from Neil Cutler.

By that point, Rotherham had already been forced into two changes, up top and at the back, after losing Delroy Facey and Ian Sharps to injuries.

That didn't seem to affect their flow as the visitors carved out the few meaningful moments in a featureless opening.

City looked "leggy" after their midweek exertions in Cumbria and Rotherham were winning most of the individual battles. Lee Williamson should have done better with an angled effort and substitute Dave Hibbert was proving a handful as he forced Donovan Ricketts into a low save.

Mark Bower rescued City on a couple of occasions but was just unable to keep out the Will Hoskins shot that put Rotherham in front after 33 minutes.

Michael Keane delayed and delayed his pass before splitting the defence and picking out the striker. City looked in vain for offside - Todd was convinced Hoskins was blatantly off - but it appeared they would get away with it anyway when the centre forward failed to take the ball in his stride.

The chance seemed to have gone as it ran away but, with Ricketts slow to react, Hoskins still managed to slide a shot goalwards from a tricky angle. Bower had kicked one off the line at Crewe last week but he was unable to repeat the trick with a despairing lunge.

That was as good as it got for Hoskins. His day went rapidly downhill after he was cautioned by Rob Styles in Rotherham's next attack for going in high on Ben Parker.

A second booking followed late on for a clumsy lunge on Lee Holmes and he could have no complaints at seeing the first red card at Valley Parade this season.

City's fortunes needed to improve if Rotherham were not going to claim a hat-trick of wins in West Yorkshire. Knill's first game as caretaker-boss was the December win at City and at half-time he must have fancied his chances of doing it again.

But the game swung on the substitutions made by his opposite number soon after the break.

Eddie Johnson had made no imprint on proceedings and after winning a couple of flick-ons for Windass, he found himself sacrificed for David Graham just before the hour point.

The Scot himself had been removed early the week before following a jaded display affected by a chest infection. Now he was coming off the bench with a big point to prove.

Parker, who had looked uncomfortable from the start, was replaced by the sturdier Alan Rogers at left back and Joe Colbeck was unleashed on the right for the ineffective Jermaine Johnson.

But Rotherham should have gone two up before the changes kicked in. They would have had Hoskins not missed a gilt-edged chance which fell for Hibbert who was offside as he tucked it past Ricketts.

City took over from that point and played with a purpose that had been lacking.

Graham nodded wide from a Rogers cross and then smashed a ferocious strike against Cutler's bar. It was desperately unlucky but proved to be the catalyst of another stirring recovery.

Windass tested the keeper on the turn before City were left cursing their luck for the second time in four minutes as he clipped the far post. Surely a goal had to come.

The momentum was bubbling up as City finally got their reward.

Rogers again pumped a decent ball into the box which Colbeck nodded into the danger area. As Rotherham tried to scramble it clear, Graham picked out Windass who controlled on his chest before delivering an ice-cool finish.

City were now hunting a winner and crowd pleaser Colbeck showed tremendous determination to beat two players and keep a ball alive on the byline for Graham who wasted it with a poor first touch.

Rotherham went down to ten men when Premiership referee Rob Styles sent Hoskins for an early bath but the home side did not have enough time to make their advantage count.

 TELEGRAPH & ARGUS

BRADFORD CITY			ROTHERHAM UNITED
Donovan Ricketts	1	22	Neil Cutler
Ben Parker	3	2	David Worrell
Nathan Doyle	4	11	Gregor Robertson
David Wetherall	5	5	Ian Sharps
Marc Bower	6	8	Pablo Mills
Steven Schumacher	7	14	Scott Wiseman
Marc Bridge-Wilkinson	8	25	Eugen Bopp
Eddie Johnson	9	15	Lee Williamson
Dean Windass	10	4	Michael Keane
Lee Holmes	11	9	Delroy Facey
Jermaine Johnson	12	10	Will Hoskins
	subs	subs
Ben Saynor	30	1	Gary Montgomery
David Graham	16	24	Dave Hibbert
Alan Rogers	17	3	Paul Hurst
Matthew Clarke	20	20	Ryan Taylor
Joe Colbeck	28	23	Martin Woods

MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee:	R Styles
Assistant Referee:	C Harwood
Assistant Referee:	B Pollock
4th Official:	D Foster

SUBSTITUTES
BRADFORD CITY	min		min	ROTHERHAM UNITED
16 for 9	57		11	24 for 9
17 for 3	64		28	23 for 5
28 for 12	64		83	3 for 25

GOAL SCORERS
BRADFORD CITY	min		min	ROTHERHAM UNITED
Windass	76		32	Hoskins

DISCIPLINARY
BRADFORD CITY	min		min	ROTHERHAM UNITED
Doyle	54		34	Hoskins
			43	Williamson
			88	Hoskins
			89	Mills