Bradford City's Brandon Khela steps up to the plate in tight promotion clash

Until his red card at Swindon Town, Smallwood's 87th-minute substitution at Morecambe had been his only time off the field this whole league season.

The captain certainly picked his moment, banned against promotion rivals Doncaster Rovers, Chesterfield and on Thursday Notts County.

No matter, Bradford just let their youngest player, Brandon Khela, step up brilliantly in a 1-1 draw which left us none the wiser on who will be going up to League One next season.

The 20-year-old scored from the bench in the play-off final which kept Ross County in the Scottish Premiership last May. He spent the first half of this season around Birmingham City’s squad before his next loan, to Bradford in January.

But this was different gravy.

Instead of the 5,797 at Dingwall, 20,392 were in Valley Parade. Sky were there as Doncaster's Grant McCann and Cliff Byrne scouted chinks to exploit in their April 26 derby.

Khela should have shut David McGoldrick down in the 70th minute, but a brilliant curling equaliser was much more about the former Sheffield United Premier League striker.

In every other respect Khela excelled, curling the wonderful free-kick Ciaran Kelly headed his first league goal from.

“We haven’t got a carbon-copy player (to replace Smallwood) but the tactical element is really important to us," said his manager, Graham Alexander.

“He didn’t show any nerves at all. Tactically he was good and he used the ball very well, his set-piece delivery (Smallwood’s job) was spot on."

Initially at least, Jack Shepherd – so good this season – showed what a nervous occasion it was but with 21-year-old Crystal Palace loanee Tayo Adaramola impressing too, the Bantams have picked up some gems.

“The lads that came in during January – Michael (Mellon), Tayo and Brandon – haven’t got a bank of experience,” said Alexander. “But they approach it in the right way.

“I go through (Khela’s) clips with him and he asked me at half-time, ‘Is this what you mean?’

"He’s constantly learning. That’s what good players do. It was a big game for the club but also for him.”

With ex-Harrogate Town centre-back Rod McDonald finding a moment almost as good as McGoldrick's to stop Bobby Pointon converting Mellon’s added-time cross Bradford's future is still up in the air.

Khela's seems assured.