Grimsby Town suffered a third-straight away defeat at the hands of Bradford City who were dominant in a 3-1 victory at Valley Parade on Saturday.

Lewis Richards and Richie Smallwood put Bradford two goals up, with Alex Pattison notching a third after Cameron McJannet had pulled one back in the second half. Over 2,000 fans made the journey to West Yorkshire for the lunchtime kick-off and left disappointed with the Mariners starting 2025 with two defeats.

David Artell had rotated the pack again ahead of the game, making four changes to his starting lineup from the Accrington Stanley defeat. Still, after a bright start, Town were physically overpowered by the Bantams.

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The home side, who moved into the play-off places ahead of the 3pm kick-offs, had been frustrated by Grimsby goalkeeper Jordan Wright for much of the first half. Wright thwarted Ciaran Kelly’s close-range header and then pulled off a superb double save from Antoni Sarcevic and Bobby Pointon.

He was at it again to push away Calum Kavanagh’s long-range effort as Bradford, missing injured top scorer Andy Cook, threatened the breakthrough. That opening goal came right on half-time when wing-back Richards converted Aden Baldwin’s to score in successive games.

Town were unable to stop the cross at source, something they struggled with all afternoon, and then the goalscorer was able to drift behind George McEachran at the back post and slot in from just a few yards out.

Smallwood doubled Bradford’s lead with a penalty after McJannet fouled Sarcevic. It was too easy for the hosts to push the ball out wide and get around the Town backline or get crosses in, with Sarcevic getting the wrong side of McJannet in the box and going down with the slightest bit of contact.

It was McJannet's second penalty conceded in as many games. However, the Grimsby centre-half made amends when he pulled one back three minutes later with a looping header at the near post from Denver Hume’s corner.

That goal did not give Town the momentum boost they would have hoped for to take control of proceedings, as the hosts continued to apply more forward pressure and keep the territory in their favour. Bradford restored their two-goal lead on 69 minutes with Pattison’s driving run and shot that flew in off the post.

The Mariners did not have a chance of real significance after Bradford’s third goal. Danny Rose fired well wide with a hopeful volley on the turn, and substitute Donovan Wilson tried an audacious flick that rolled wide deep into stoppage time.

It was a disappointing display for Town, with some players looking to have run out of gas at the end of a four-game block over ten days. The club’s wait for their first win at Valley Parade since 1997 goes on, as it does for their first points of 2025 after ending last year with two big home wins.