Wrexham beaten on penalties as Bradford reach third round

Bradford City reached the Carabao Cup third round by beating Wrexham 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Tyler Smith’s penalty inside three minutes handed Bradford the advantage but Will Boyle equalised to take the game to spot-kicks.

Dan Oyegoke’s effort was saved by Mark Howard, but Luke Young missed and James Jones’s penalty was stopped by Harry Lewis to send the Bantams through.

Bradford’s early spot-kick came when Aaron Hayden brought down Jamie Walker and Smith buried, the goalscorer being denied a second by Howard not long after.

In response Jake Bickerstaff’s effort landed inches wide on the quarter-hour, while Lewis kept out Ryan Barnett’s shot and Ben Tozer’s header in quick succession.

Brad Halliday blocked Sam Dalby’s header on the line as Wrexham went close, before Bickerstaff’s later low effort fizzed inches wide.

Emmanuel Osadebe curled a glorious effort over before the hour for Bradford and Halliday later squandered a one-on-one chance wide.

Boyle made the Bantams pay as he emphatically headed home Young’s corner with fewer than 20 minutes left as penalties followed.

Matt Derbyshire, Richie Smallwood, Adam Wilson and Halliday scored for Bradford, while Elliot Lee, Ollie Palmer and James McClean netted for Wrexham.