Bradford City promoted to League One after last-gasp Fleetwood win

Bradford City have been promoted to League One after their last-gasp 1-0 victory over Fleetwood Town, ending a six-year stay in the fourth tier.

The Bantams went into the game knowing that matching Walsall's result would see them promoted as long as they didn't lose and Notts County didn't beat Doncaster Rovers.

With the Saddlers winning 1-0 at Crewe Alexandra, Bradford looked set to miss out on automatic promotion after missing a number of opportunities against Fleetwood.

The visitors held firm until the sixth minute of injury time when George Lapslie's shot from 20 yards out was diverted into the back of the net by Antoni Sarcevic, sparking wild scenes that saw Bradford's fans invade the pitch before the full-time whistle.

Play eventually restarted after the pitch was cleared and the Bantams held on to secure third place and automatic promotion.

Manager Graham Alexander hailed his players in his post-match press conference, as they eventually found a way past a stubborn Fleetwood defence.

“It’s the Bradford way, to take everyone through every emotion you can possibly feel," said Alexander.

“What an amazing way to finish a really tough and brutal season."

“Even in the 96th minute in the last game of the season, they are still going, still fit and more than anything, still believing. They have been magnificent."

Despite star striker Andy Cook suffering a season-ending knee injury at the start of the year, the Bantams won 10 of their next 12 League Two games, conceding just three goals in that time, jumping from outside the play-off places to inside the automatic spots.

City’s good run came to an end with a 1-0 defeat at struggling Gillingham before a shock home defeat to Tranmere, with their promotion credentials taking a number of blows in recent weeks.

Bradford fell to a 2-0 defeat to promotion rivals Port Vale before going 2-0, 3-1 and 4-3 up at Swindon before two late goals saw them go down 5-4. Even as recently as last week, Alexander's men had a late penalty to equalise at Doncaster, only to see the spot-kick saved, going on to lose 2-1.

Bradford’s run came at the worst possible time with one win in seven, but Walsall's shocking collapse has seen them snatch the final promotion place.

It is Bradford’s first promotion since 2013, the year they went up via the play-offs and reached the EFL Cup final, also ending a six-year stay in the fourth tier, and the club’s focus will now be ensuring they avoid a swift return.

Bradford quickly took to life in League One following their 2013 promotion, finishing 11th, seventh, fifth and fifth, losing in the play-offs to Millwall in two consecutive seasons before manager Stuart McCall was harshly dismissed in 2020, with the Bantams relegated the season after.

The top end of League One is arguably as strong as it’s ever been; in recent years, the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Sunderland, Bolton, Derby, Portsmouth, Birmingham and Wrexham have all found themselves vying for promotion, and it’s an increasingly difficult division to get out of.

But a club whose average attendance this season of more than 17,000 – in excess of all bar three League One clubs – should have sufficient support and financial backing to be comfortable in the division.

Get a few off-field decisions right, and it might not be too long before the Bantams return to the second tier for the first time since 2004.

Liam Williams

• League Two
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