Saturday 14 September 2013 | Sky Bet League 1
Bradford City 2 (Wells 14, 52) Colchester United 2 (Monakana 28, Ibehre 32)
Kick Off: 3.00pm at the Coral Windows Stadium | Attendance: 13,570 (189 visitors)

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A double from Nahki Wells secured a point for the Bantams from an entertaining clash with Colchester United.

Wells’ first of the afternoon early in the opening period had given Phil Parkinson’s men the lead but two goals in four minutes from the visitors later in the half – the first City have conceded at home all season – gave Colchester the interval lead.

Colchester’s equaliser came from a fine strike by loanee winger Jeffrey Monakana after The U’s had caught City on the counter-attack from their own corner. Jabo Ibehre then stunned the Coral Windows Stadium by giving Colchester the lead shortly afterwards when he turned Rory McArdle before confidently slotting home past Jon McLaughlin.

Despite seemingly being shaken out of their stride a little by Colchester’s quick-fire double, City came roaring back after the restart to level things up once again thanks to Nahki Wells’ looping header seven minutes into the second half that found the far corner following a James Meredith cross.

City looked the more likely winners as the game ticked on towards its conclusion, with James Hanson heading narrowly wide from a Kyel Reid corner around fifteen minutes from the end and Mark Yeates forcing Colchester ‘keeper Sam Walker into a fine tip-over with a clipped effort in the last minute of normal time.

Either side of those two chances, however, Colchester substitute Gavin Massey had hit the post for the visitors with a curling effort from just outside the area.

The final action of note from an absorbing contest was a rather unfortunate one sadly when replacement defender Daniel Poppoe was given his marching orders for Colchester in the first minute of injury time.

With Yeates struggling to keep the ball in play down City’s left flank just as a throw-in had been signaled for the visitors, Popoe came steaming in with an unnecessarily-forceful lunge on the Irish winger which left the Bradford man down on the floor in agony and the Colchester defender facing an early bath.

The club doctor and members of the St John’s Ambulance were pitch-side as initial fears grew that Yeates had done some serious damage to his left leg, but, thankfully for the City attacker, he was eventually able to carry on and complete the last few minutes of the game.

Read more at http://www.bradfordcityfc.co.uk/