Match Centre: Bradford City 1 Torquay United 0 - plus Bantams draw Blades in JP Trophy

The victory came at the end of a great week for Bradford, who had knocked out League One side Huddersfield Town in the JP Trophy in the week.

The three points sees the Bantams climb above Barnet into fourth bottom in League Two on 10 points, three points above the drop zone. But importantly at this stage of the season they are closing the gap on mid-table.

It was also good news for Fagan, who has been plagued by injuries in recent years, and found the net for the first time since playing for Hull City in the Premier League against Fulham.

City’s task was made harder by the dismissal of Andrew Davis on the half-hour mark. The Stoke City loanee was shown a red card for serious foul play.

However, they took the lead in the 38th minute. Kyel Reid’s free-kick was flicked into the path of Fagan who found the net from close range.

Parkinson is pondering whether to appeal against the sending off of Davis.

Parkinson said: “I would have been disappointed if it had been a yellow card, but now he will miss three games because he has been shown a red card.

“We need to have a look at it. I will speak to the chairmen and make a decision about an appeal.

“I had thought it was a bad decision, I am convinced the referee has got it wrong.

“You’ve got to be able to distinguish between a tackle with raised studs which injures a player and one which has won the ball.

“Referees are too quick to send players off. No-one goes out of his way to injure another player, although occasionally you might get a mistimed tackle.”

Meanwhile, Bradford have been drawn away from home at Sheffield United in the quarter-final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, northern section.

The Bantams have already knocked out Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday and Huddersfield Town, both on penalties, in the earlier rounds.

For the full match report and reaction read Sports Monday, free inside Monday’s Yorkshire Post.