Bradford City boss Graham Alexander blasts 'passive' Bantams as Simon Weaver hails 'magnificent' Harrogate Town

Just as was the case during recent losses away to Walsall and Grimsby, the Bantams were slow out of the blocks and found themselves trailing before the half-hour mark.

And, although they improved after Andy Cook netted his sixth goal of the season to get them back into the contest, a furious Alexander said the damage had already been done and insisted that his side will achieve nothing this term if they continue in the same vein.

"If we want to do anything this season, then that first 20 minutes is not acceptable," he said. "We were just so loose. The first 20 minutes, we just cannot repeat ever again. Ever.

"We wouldn’t even accept that in training if we were doing 11 versus 11. We’d stop the training and ask questions, but unfortunately in a game you can’t stop it.

"We gave ourselves a mountain to climb with the first 20 minutes, which was nowhere near.

"We were so passive it was unbelievable. We basically handed the three points to them and gave ourselves too much to do to wrestle them back."

These Yorkshire derby fixtures evidently mean a lot more to Harrogate than they do the Bantams, who – perhaps understandably given their history – have tended to play down any notion of local rivalry.

But Town’s approach undoubtedly works, with Simon Weaver’s men having won seven and drawn one of their 10 league and cup meetings with City since their promotion to the fourth tier.

Just as they did when they turned over another big club from just down the road in the shape of Doncaster Rovers earlier this month, the Sulphurites used the occasion and the atmosphere created by it to their advantage.

They began brilliantly, with Jack Muldoon and Liam Gibson going close to forcing an early breakthrough and drawing decent saves out of visiting goalkeeper Sam Walker inside the opening five minutes.

And they kept coming, getting their noses in front on 11 minutes. Gibson switched the play from left to right, where Ellis Taylor’s intelligent cut-back picked out Toby Sims, marauding forwards from defence.

The Harrogate right-back undoubtedly scuffed his low centre towards the six-yard-box, but Stephen Dooley didn’t care, slamming the ball inside Walker’s near post.

Things then got even better for the hosts when they doubled their lead on 22 minutes courtesy of some slick football down the left wing.

James Daly embarrassed Brad Halliday, beating him for pace before passing inside to Taylor, who took a touch and then stroked a cool finish across Walker and into the bottom corner.

Very little was going right for Bradford, though they were handed a lifeline in the 28th minute when Anthony O’Connor made the most uncharacteristic of mistakes.

The experienced centre-half attempted to dribble past Cook and was dispossessed inside his own half by City’s number nine, who raced clear before slotting past the advancing James Belshaw.

That goal brought City to life, and they probably shaded the rest of the contest without creating much in the way of clear-cut opportunities to get themselves back on terms.

Substitute Calum Kavanagh came as close as anyone to bagging an equaliser, however his close-range effort from a Jay Benn cross was deflected just the wrong side of the upright and Harrogate were able to see the game out without too many scares.

"We were worthy winners,” said a delighted Weaver. “The absolute truth is that Harrogate Town were magnificent.

"In a derby, there's always plenty of drama and suddenly at 2-1 they’re in the game from nothing when we could and should have blown them away with the way we were playing."

Harrogate Town: Belshaw, Sims, O'Connor, Moon, Gibson, Falkingham (Burrell 81), Taylor (Folarin 81), Cornelius (Sutton 75), Dooley, J Daly (Asare 90), Muldoon. Unused substitutes: Oxley, Duke-Mckenna, March.

Bradford City: S Walker, Halliday (Benn 46), Diabate, Shepherd, Richards, J Walker (Oliver 80), Smallwood, Pattison (Oduor 46), Pointon (Wright 69), Cook, Sanderson (Kavanagh 46). Unused substitutes: Doyle, Wadsworth.

Referee: Martin Coy (County Durham).