Wells City 3

Bradford 2

Wells played their 'get out of jail free card' on Saturday and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with two late strikes which turned the game on its head.

Rarely will a victory be so warmly welcomed, and possibly undeserved, but the three points gathered enabled the City side to stretch their lead at the top of the Toolstation Western League First Division.

Wells showed little of the quality that has been a feature of their season so far, and which was evident in their midweek success at local rivals Street in the Somerset Premier Cup.

The first half saw them struggle against a strong, well-organised Bradford side and, to the exasperation of the home support, lost possession too easily with a series of wayward passing and seemingly lack of self belief.

All the action of any significance was held back for the second period, which sprung into life when Wells were awarded a penalty in the 46th minute after Mark Randall was pushed over in the box. Murray took the responsibility to fire powerfully into the top of the net to give his side the lead.

The Wiltshire side responded well and restored parity when they were also awarded a penalty after Jamie Jordan was upended during a goalmouth scramble. Dave Percival found the back of the net with the spot-kick.

Wells' lacklustre performance did little to raise the temperature on a frustrating afternoon, and this was epitomised on the hour when skipper Jamie Gowers was caught in possession by Percival, who raced clear and squared the ball for Jordan to put Bradford ahead with an easy tap-in.

Jordan was a constant threat to the City side, and it came as a surprise when the 16-year-old was replaced with 15 minutes remaining after his man-of-the-match performance.

Wells made a double substitution, with Billy Manning and Craig Rimmer replacing Brown and Nathan Truckle, and another soon after in the form of Olli Edwards for the sacrificed Gowers, as the home side threw three up front and caution to the wind.

With seven minutes left, Murray sent in a low cross from the right which evaded everyone apart from Ian Howse, who scored from within the six-yard box to draw the scores level.

Wells kept pressing, and with minutes remaining, Murray found space behind the tiring Bradford defence to slide the ball under the diving keeper to win the game for his side.