Exeter City 3 Bradford City 2 - Bantams' eight-game unbeaten run ended at St James Park

DEFEAT: Bradford City's eight-game unbeaten run was ended by Exeter City on Saturday afternoon. Picture: Getty Images.

Despite leading twice away to Exeter, the Bantams were beaten 3-2 by their hosts with a 79th-minute penalty from Matt Jay proving decisive.

The visitors arrived at St James Park on the back of an eight-game unbeaten run which yielded 18 points from a possible 24.

Things started brightly as Charles Vernam, who joined City on deadline day, pounced to score after Callum Cooke saw his shot blocked.

Exeter equalised three minutes before half time when Pierce Sweeney rose to head the ball into the net from a corner kick.

The Bantams responded well and regained the lead before the half-time whistle.

Ollie Crankshaw latched onto loose back-pass and skipped around Jokull Andresson to tap the ball into the empty net for a debut goal of his own.

The Grecians levelled proceedings for a second time just after the hour mark when Ryan Bowman headed in from Robbie Willmott's cross.

The key moment arrived in the latter stages when Sam Hornby brought down Bowman inside the penalty area as Jay made no mistake from 12 yards to give Bradford their first defeat since December 12.

The Bantams will hope to bounce back quickly when they travel to Scunthorpe United on Tuesday night.

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