The City defeated the Bantams, 2-1, in a highly entertaining clash at the University of Bradford Stadium on Saturday, January 17th, 2026.
Brian Barry-Murphy made two changes from last weekend's draw with Leyton Orient, welcoming skipper Calum Chambers and David Turnbull into the starting XI.
Turnbull was involved early on and saw a low deflected cross tipped away from goal by Sam Walker, but there was nothing the Bradford City goalie could do to stop Turnbull two minutes later as the Bluebirds took the lead.
Following some delightful passing, the Scot took aim from 25 yards, finding the top corner with a stunner.
Next up was the turn of Chambers to make an impact on the match, doubling City's advantage with 24 minutes on the clock. Ollie Tanner was credited with assisting Turnbull's opener, and he had an even bigger hand in the second following a well worked corner move.
Tanner's low cross into the box was flicked delightfully into the bottom corner by City skipper Chambers to give BBM's men full control of the encounter.
The hosts grew into the match in the final ten minutes of the opening half. They had a penalty appeal as the half reached its conclusion, with Antoni Sarcevic being blocked by Chambers. This was nearly an exact copy of a challenge on Joel Bagan just before City's second goal. Referee David Rock's reaction was equally similar, with no foul given on either occasion.
As you'd expect from a team riding as high as Bradford City this season, boasting a home record with only a single blemish, the hosts came at the Bluebirds in the second half, aided by two changes at half-time.
Substitute Stephen Humphrys fired over at close range 51 minutes in, before the Bantams did manage to reduce the deficit eight minutes later. In an extremely similar position to Turnbull's impressive shot, Jenson Metcalfe found the net.
It was hard not to be impressed by the second half performance of the hosts, who put Cardiff City under intense pressure throughout. Gabriel Osho made a fantastic block to get rid of a dangerous Humphrys strike as we entered the final ten minutes. The introduced Will Fish then denied the same man with a great block with three minutes to go.
It was backs to the wall stuff for City against their hosts for much of the second half, but they showed how strong they can be in defence under pressure.
The away side saw chances to go further ahead through Isaak Davies and Callum Robinson go untaken, but in the grand scheme of things, it was all about the three points, and that's exactly what City got. Three huge points on the road against a promotion rival for BBM's battling Bluebirds.
FINAL SCORE: BRADFORD CITY 1-2 CARDIFF CITY
Bradford City: Walker, Touray (J.Wright 90+4'), Power, Neufville (Ashby 68'), Sarcevic, Baldwin, T.Wright (Sibley 46'), Metcalfe, Pointon (White 68'), Swan (Humphrys 46'), Tilt. Subs Not Used: Hilton, Leigh.
Cardiff City: Trott, Ng (J.Colwill 46'), Osho, Chambers, Bagan, Wintle, Turnbull, Robertson (Robinson 77'), Willock (Ashford 64'), Tanner (Davies 64'), Salech (Fish 84'). Subs Not Used: Turner, Lawlor.