Bradford City's Andy Cook draws praise from Graham Alexander and Darren Moore after brace against Port Vale

A talismanic figure for the Bantams, Cook struck twice to give the hosts a much-needed win over promotion hopefuls Port Vale.

His brace took his EFL goal tally to 100 and he achieved the feat in style, with his first goal coming from long range.

Bantams boss Graham Alexander said: “It’s something we encourage all the time to be positive and just go for it.

“Goals like that stay in the memory for everyone for years. It won’t just be Cooky thinking about it, the supporters will and I will.

“I enjoyed it. That’s what you want to come to football matches for to see things like that and it was unbelievable strike.”

Opposite number Moore added: “That’s a wonderful goal to score at any level whether it’s the Premier League or any division. He took it early and it’s an individual bit of brilliance that knocked us back.

“It was a brilliant strike and probably their goal of the season. We’re not even halfway through and I bet he won’t score a better one.”

Bradford fell to a defeat to Notts County before Christmas, slowing their progress after back-to-back victories.

Alexander admitted his side had questions to answer following their disappointment at Meadow Lane.

He said: “We had a few questions to answer from last week and that five-minute spell that cost us dearly.

“In general terms, we tried to put the performance in context so they could go into this game confident.

“The first goal galvanised everyone and it was a really strong first-half performance. Their goal from a long throw was disappointing but it’s a great strike from the guy.

“But the response was fantastic. The crowd stayed with us and got louder after the equaliser and I thought we were really good on all the little details that win games. Cooky has come up with two moments of pure quality to help us win the game.”