Match report by David Elliott at Valley Parade

AN INJURY time winner denied Grimsby Town what would have been a deserved point against Bradford City.

Despite having nothing to play for in terms of promotion chances, the two sides produced an entertaining contest, which Town dominated for long periods.

The Mariners took the lead on nine minutes, with Peter Till on target but injuring himself in the process of bundling the ball into the net.

Grimsby looked comfortable up until half time, with their opponents providing little threat in front of goal.

That continued into the second half until the home side were gifted an equaliser.Peter Thorne scored it after a back-pass from Tom Newey fell well short.

It looked like Town would take at least a point home with them but Joe Colbeck struck with a volley in the second minute of stoppage time to seal the victory for the West Yorkshire side.

Town made three changes to the team that lost at home to Wycombe in midweek.

Ryan Bennett came back into the line-up after starring for England U18s on Wednesday, while James Hunt returned from injury and Ciaran Toner was given a starting berth after coming on as sub on Tuesday.

Phil Barnes began in goal as Alan Buckley opted for a 4-5-1 formation with Bennett at right back, Rob Atkinson and Nick Fenton as centre backs and Tom Newey restored to his familiar left back position.

Peter Till started on the right wing, with Danny Boshell, Hunt and former Bradford player Paul Bolland as the central midfielders.

Toner began on the left, while Nathan Jarman was the lone frontman.

Grimsby's substitutes were Jamie Clarke, Gary Montgomery, Nick Hegarty, Matthew Bird and Martin Butler.

Bradford named long-serving central defender David Wetherall among their starting XI.The former-Leeds United man is one of only two players in the country to have played for the same club in all four league divisions having made the short trip to sign from Elland Road when City were a Premier League side.

Striker Peter Thorne was likely to be one of the main threats to the Mariners goal, having scored 13 league goals already this season.

Substitute Barry Conlon would also be a threat in front of goal if called upon from the bench later in the game.

The Mariners went into the game looking to halt a run of five defeats in their previous six league outings, whereas Bradford had lost only one of their previous six, going down to a 2-1 reverse at Rochdale at the beginning of this month.

Town's first chance came within two minutes, when Bennett sent in a cross from the right after a pass from Till. Neither Toner nor Boshell could connect properly inside the box though and Wetherall managed to clear.

Till sliced a volley wide on three minutes as the Mariners' promising start continued but it wouldn't have counted anyway as the offside flag had been raised against the winger.

The first corner of the afternoon went Bradford's way and Barnes had to dive to stop a clever flick from Thorne.

Jarman won a ball on the edge of the area before hitting a shot against the side netting from 18 yards on five minutes as the ball moved from end to end.

Town had been the better side in the early stages of the game and they took a deserved lead on nine minutes.

Jarman appeared to be fouled on the left but referee Jarnail Singh played an advantage as Toner collected the ball.The Northern Irishman crossed low for TILL, who bundled the ball into the net from close range.

Unfortunately for Till, scoring the goal proved to be his last action of the game as he picked up an injury and was forced off on a stretcher.Hegarty replaced him on the field as Town were forced into an early change.

Soon afterwards, Bolland was shown a yellow card for a foul near the halfway line.

Atkinson followed him into the referee's notebook on 16 minutes as he stopped a Bradford attack on the right.Kyle Nix took the free kick but the home side couldn't create any danger from it and Town won a throw-in on halfway.

Omar Daley shot from 25 yards soon afterwards after Bradford won the ball inside their own half but the effort was easy for Barnes to gather in the centre of his goalmouth.

Then, on 20 minutes, boshell had to concede a corner on the right.Nix took it and passed to Joe Colbeck on the edge of the box but Hunt did enough to put him off and Town won a throw.

The Mariners were still the better side at the 25-minute mark, playing some controlled football and creating chances to increase their lead.

Toner almost profited from a Bennett cross but the ball skipped away from him as he tried to connect with his boot instead of his head from eight yards.

At the same time, Grimsby were looking comfortable at the other end, with Barnes' goal coming under little or no threat from the Bantams attack.

Bennett and Jarman combined well down the right as the game neared the half-hour, with Bennett putting in a cross for Hegarty, who couldn't quite create an opening for a shot.

Two minutes later, Boshell cut a ball back for Jarman on the edge of the area and his fierce shot flew narrowly wide.

Town survived a penalty appeal from the massed home support as they claimed a ball hit Atkinson on the arm. The assistant referee on the far side appeared to raise his flag before swiftly pulling it down again and Grimsby's lead was preserved.

Moments later, it was Bradford's turn to enjoy a huge slice of fortune as the Mariners thought they had doubled their advantage.Hegarty's goalbound shot was touched into the net by Bennett but the youngster was in an offside position and the goal didn't count.

On the stroke of half-time, the hosts had a great chance to level the game up but Daley sliced a shot wide when he was unmarked on the left side of the area.

Two minutes of added time were signalled and as the referee ended the half, Town would have been more than happy with the way it had gone.

Till's goal meant Grimsby led at the break and Alan Buckley would no doubt have been pleased with the football his side had played.

Bradford fans would have hoped their side could raise their game for the second half as they had threatened on very few occasions over the first 45 minutes.

No changes were made before the restart but the hosts would have the benefit of the strong wind for the remainder of the game.

Bradford had the first good chance when Thorne headed just over from a free kick delivered from right of the area on 49 minutes.

The hosts were awarded another free kick in a similar position two minutes later when Boshell pushed Tom Penford.

Nix chose to shoot directly from the set piece and his effort hit the side netting.

Town could have made it 2-0 seconds later when Jarman threaded a ball through for Hegarty but the substitute's touch was too heavy and the ball ran for keeper scott Loach.

Grimsby won a free kick in a good position left of the area when Boshell was fouled but Toner's kick was poor and Bradford cleared their lines.

Town's first corner came on 57 minutes and Boshell's delivery was cleared to Hegarty, who couldn't keep his shot on target from 25 yards.

Grimsby had started the second half well but their lead was cancelled out after a defensive mistake on 61 minutes.

Newey's back-pass for Barnes was well short and THORNE nipped in to slot home from a narrow angle, despite the best efforts of Fenton to clear off the line.

It signalled the start of a period of Bradford pressure as the home side seized the initiative.

Home boss Stuart McCall sent on an extra striker in the shape of Barry Conlon, sacrificing midfielder Eddie Johnson as the West Yorkshire side looked for a second goal.

The big man made an immediate impact, heading over from a free kick before linking up with Thorne to carve the Town defence open but without an end product.

Grimsby's second substitution saw Buckley add an extra attacker, introducing Martin Butler in place of Hunt as the Mariners reverted to 4-4-2.

They won a corner on 75 minutes but Toner's ball into the box was headed away by Conlon.

A long kick forward by Barnes five minutes later found Jarman but the ball was nudged back to Loach.The keeper picked it up but the appeals for a back-pass from the Town players fell on deaf ears.

Thorne was replaced by Luke Medley with seven minutes to go, the goalscorer going off the field to a standing ovation from three sides of the ground.

Bradford almost went in front when on 82 minutes, Nix worked an opening for himself before attempting to chip Barnes.The Town stopper had strayed slightly off his line but he still managed to tip the ball over his bar for a corner.

Grimsby had two good chances to win the game as it moved towards stoppage time.First, jarman raced clear but as he advanced towards the box, the referee blew for a foul.

Then Hegarty found himself clear inside the area but he couldn't finish the chance off, hitting a weak shot that didn't trouble Loach.

As it looked like the game was looking like finishing level, the hosts found their winner deep into injury time.

The ball dropped for COLBECK and he volleyed an unstoppable shot past Barnes from 20 yards.

It was cruel on the Mariners, who didn't deserve to lose the game and will probably feel they should have taken all three points back to North East Lincolnshire.

They now look forward to next Saturday's home clash with Peterborough United, the final match at Blundell Park of the season.