Tom Soares’ own goal hands Bradford victory at Stevenage

Bradford were gifted a 1-0 victory at Stevenage thanks to a Tom Soares own goal.

The Bantams stood firm against early pressure with Luther Wildin wasting the best chance of the half for the home side when he headed over.

James Vaughan was denied by a smart fingertip save by Paul Farman in the 12th minute as Bradford threatened for the first time.

Wildin headed over from close range two minutes later as the home side took control.

City survived shouts for a penalty in the 25th minute when Kurtis Guthrie went down in the box.

But they found themselves ahead when Soares guided Connor Wood’s corner into his own net in the 42nd minute.

Richard O’Donnell pulled off a brilliant save to keep out Danny Newton’s close-range header in the 62nd minute.

Guthrie was then inches away with a far-post header seven minutes later, before O’Donnell kept out a Kelland Watts backheel with seven minutes left.

Ben Kennedy was inches away from levelling when he hit the bar with a free-kick with a minute to go.