CITY have a rare midweek without a match, as Round Two of the Papa John’s Trophy takes place this evening.

It was fine margins that cost the Bantams a place in the knockout stages. They drew against Wolves’ Under-21s and Doncaster, but missed out on an extra point after losing both penalty shootouts.

With Wolves’ youngsters winning 2-1 against Doncaster in their final match, that meant City had to beat Oldham on matchday three to qualify.

With the Latics already through after winning their opening two games, they played a weakened team at Valley Parade.

But so did the Bantams, who were clearly prioritising the league match against Exeter that Saturday.

In the end, two late goals from Oldham midfielder Alfie McCalmont, on loan from Leeds, condemned City to a 3-1 defeat and elimination from the tournament.

It wasn’t always this way, and although City have never tasted final glory in the Football League Trophy (in its various guises), we thought we’d look at five occasions where they came tantalisingly close, as well as one bonus memory.

1981-82 (QUARTER-FINAL)

This is a season best remembered for City’s promotion from Division Four, which saw them go up in second place behind champions Sheffield United.

They only missed out on the title by five points, and they nearly bagged another trophy too in the shape of the Football League Group Cup, considered as the forerunner to the Football League Trophy.

The Bantams topped Group B with ease, picking up three wins from three, with only eventual champions Grimsby also ending the group stages with a perfect record.

And City would have fancied their chances in a home quarter-final against Shrewsbury, despite the Shropshire side being in Division Two at the time.

In a closely fought contest, the teams drew 1-1, so the game went to a shootout, a real novelty back in those days.

Sadly, City’s class of 1981-82 were no more successful than their 2020-21 counterparts, losing the spot-kick lottery 4-3.

1987-88 (SEMI-FINAL)

Admittedly this one is cheating, because it is not the Football League Trophy, but while City were in Division Two between 1985-86 and 1989-90, they took part in the Full Members Cup (or Simod Cup), which was created after English clubs were banned from Europe following the Heysel disaster.

Their best effort came in the 1987-88 season, when they marched all the way into the last four.

They crushed Aston Villa 5-0 away from home in the first round, with Ron Futcher’s brace complemented by goals from Brian Mitchell, Ian Ormondroyd and Steve O’Shaughnessy.

Strikes from Futcher and Greg Abbott ensured City squeezed past Newcastle 2-1 in round two, before McCall grabbed the winner in a 1-0 victory over Southampton in round three.

That put the Bantams into a February semi-final against Reading, where despite a John Hendrie goal, they fell to a 2-1 defeat in extra-time.

Reading went on to win the tournament, beating Luton 2-1 in the final.

1992-93 (AREA QUARTER-FINAL)

The format here for the Autoglass Trophy saw the Northern and Southern sections each split into seven groups of three, with the top two going through in each.

City and Huddersfield had no trouble progressing, with the pair beating group whipping boys Halifax 4-0 and 5-0 respectively.

The Bantams and the Terriers drew their game 0-0, meaning both went through with four points.

City took on Scarborough in the next stage, beating their seaside opponents 4-3 in a superb match.

That led to an area quarter-final against Stockport, but this time it was City who ended up on the wrong side of a seven-goal thriller.

2009-10 (AREA SEMI-FINAL)

City were in the top two divisions between 1996 and 2004, so did not feature in the Football League Trophy then.

They produced some miserable performances on their return, being knocked out in the first round three times in a row at one point.

But they got their act together in the 2009-10 Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, beating Rochdale 2-1 in round one, before seeing off both Notts County and Port Vale on penalties at Valley Parade.

Sadly, City badly underperformed in the semi-finals, and were thumped 3-0 by Carlisle at Brunton Park.

It was a real shame, as victory in Cumbria would have set up a mouthwatering area final with Leeds.

2011-12 (AREA SEMI-FINAL)

This run saw City take on, and beat, three fellow Yorkshire titans, with all those games remarkably going to a penalty shootout.

City won 3-1 on spot-kicks after a 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in round one, before an own goal from Antony Kay and a Luke Oliver header ensured a 2-2 draw at Huddersfield.

The Bantams won that shootout 4-3, before an area quarter-final with Sheffield United produced a 1-1 draw, courtesy of a Michael Flynn strike, and a 6-5 success on penalties.

No penalties were needed to settle the semi with Oldham though, as City slipped to a 2-0 defeat.

City actually reached the area semi-finals the following season too, following wins at Hartlepool and Port Vale.

But with their last four clash at Crewe falling in the middle of that famous two-legged League Cup semi against Aston Villa, a distracted City understandably slumped to a heavy 4-1 defeat.

2016-17 (QUARTER-FINAL)

At this point called the Checkatrade Trophy, this was the first season of the competition to feature the controversial addition of Premier League academy sides.

City's first group game came against Stoke's youngsters, with Timothee Dieng netting a first half winner.

Haris Vuckic and Jordy Hiwula were on target in the 2-1 win over Bury, while Vuckic netted twice in the final group clash, a 3-2 away defeat to Morecambe.

Despite that loss, City topped their group, and Nicky Law's 64th minute header saw them beat Cambridge 1-0 in round two.

Hiwula got the only goal to floor Cheltenham in round three, and despite the same player netting in the quarter final against Oxford, City fell to a narrow 2-1 defeat.