Bradford City 4 Colchester 1: Record-breaking league crowd at Valley Parade yields a magnificent home show as Bantams move one point behind Walsall

After the angst of the previous Saturday, this was thoroughly joyous.

Following two straight losses without scoring,. Bradford City’s automatic promotion credentials following a brilliant post-Christmas run were being doubted by some.

They need not have worried. This was a magnificent afternoon on a day when Callum Kavanagh and George Lapslie plundered doubles, with a stunning victory added gloss by the returns to action of Bobby Pointon and Alex Pattison from the bench.

Graham Alexander has been afforded some proud moments as City chief so far in 2024-25, none moreso than this vintage occasion on a day when City moved within a point of League Two leaders Walsall.

All this against a wholly dangerous form side in Colchester who were seeking their sixth straight win. It added kudos to City’s feats.

In front of a bumper crowd at this level, most of the punters - certainly the Bradford ones - got the sort of first half which they were wishing for, aside from a leveller against the run of play from U’s winger Harry Anderson.

That Bradford dusted themselves down and restored their deserved advantage within five minutes was credit to the efforts of the hosts in an absorbing half for the most part.

City, who took over after a quiet start, were excellent and brimful of tempo, purpose and quality, with their two wing-backs in Brad Halliday and Tayo Adaramola, who both provided goal assists, caused a stack of problems down the sides in particular.

Halliday stayed alive in the 31st minute, with U’s defender Rob Hunt paying the penalty for a moment of slackness in trying to shepherd the ball over the line for a goal kick from Brandon Khela’s lofted pass.

Halliday hooked the ball back to the near post and Kavanagh was onto it, quick as a flash, to poke the ball past visiting keeper Matt Macey.

It was no more than City merited, but the U’s were level not long after from their first purposeful attack when Anderson netted a rebound.

No matter, City were not put off and Lapslie showed sharpness in front of goal, heading in from Adaramola’s cross from the left.

A sea of claret and amber packed out Valley Parade, with City punters doing their club proud as did their players.

There were headlines in the team news from a Bantams perspective, with the names of Pattison and Pointon being welcome ones on the substitutes bench.

Less edifying was the fact that key defender Jack Shepherd was not involved for the hosts, presumably with some injury issue.

Unsurprisingly given their sterling recent form, Colchester were unchanged with their starting line-up featuring former City players Fiacre Kelleher and Jack Payne.

Colchester threatened first and an alert tackle from the recalled Tyreik Wright denied Lyle Taylor, just as he was about to pull the trigger following Payne’s innovative free-kick.

From that moment, City took over.

Niall Byrne went close with a first-time connection from Wright’s outswinging corner before Khela fired a long-ranger wide.

A last-ditch Hunt challenge denied Lapslie before Aden Baldwin just failed to get on the end of a wicked curling cross from Richie Smallwood.

Bradford were really getting after Colchester with the dangerous Adaramola testing Macey and the opener, when it arrived, had an air of inevitability about it.

Following Kavanagh’s instincts, Halliday drilled a shot wide and went close to a second before the U’s levelled when Payne wriggled clear in the box - too easily in fairness - and saw his low shot parried by Sam Walker, with Anderson netting the rebound as Adaramola slipped.

City were not put off and restored their lead through Lapslie.

On the resumption, attacking the Kop, Kavanagh soon tested the reactions of Macey with a rising drive as the hosts sought a two-goal buffer.

The action continued with Payne, an irritant for City in the past, fired over before the visitors spurned a huge chance to level.

Owura Edwards got away from Baldwin down the left and was through on goal with Walker to beat, but fired wide with the City keeper getting a faint, but highly important, touch.

It was a reminder that the game was far from over while at the other end, Kavanagh was a whisker away from turning in a cross from Adaramola, causing further damage down the left.

Romoney Crichlow then went close in a game manifesting itself as a terrific advert for the top end of League Two as the rain started to come down.

A soothing third then arrived from Kavanagh, another striker’s goal from close in after persistence from Khela.

Those in home colours were in a jubilant mood. A chant of ‘We’re going to win the league’ was soon doing the rounds.

The feeling was reinforced when Lapslie again showed razor-sharp instincts from close in to fire home Pointon’s cross at the near post. What an afternoon.

Bradford City: S Walker, Byrne (Huntington 83), Baldwin, Crichlow (Kelly 73); Halliday, Khela, Smallwood, Adaramola (Pattison 83); Lapslie, Wright (Pointon 73), Kavanagh (J Walker 83). Substitutes unused: Hilton, Mellon.

Colchester United: Macey; Egbo, Kelleher, Flanagan, Hunt (Simpson 65); Read, Iandolo; Anderson, Payne (Thorn 82), O Edwards (Gordon 65); Taylor (Scully 73). Substitutes unused: Smith, Tucker, Vincent-Young.

Referee: W Finnie (Bedfordshire).