A stirring finish from Bradford helped them recover from a goal down to beat Rochdale 2-1 at Spotland.

Dale fall at the first hurdle

A stirring finish from Bradford helped them come from a goal down to beat Rochdale 2-1 at Spotland. Having been under pressure for long periods and fallen behind to Craig Dawson's goal, late strikes from Michael Flynn and Scott Neilson handed Stuart McCall's men victory. The hosts had the better of the first half, with Simon Eastwood saving Joe Thompson's header while Chris Dagnall struck the bar from close range. Dale took the lead in the 58th minute when a free-kick from Adam Rundle was partially cleared, but when Jason Kennedy worked the ball back into the box, defender Dawson fired home. The Bantams drew level in the 73rd minute when Flynn crashed home a 25-yard freekick, with goalkeeper Kenny Arthur getting a hand to the ball but being unable to keep out the powerfully driven set-piece. Flynn almost added a second soon after, his long-range effort hitting the post as the momentum swung Bradford's way. The winning goal was credited to Neilson, though his 20-yard drive took a decisive deflection off Marcus Holness, before looping high into the air and over the helpless Arthur 11 minutes from the end.