Graham Alexander's reaction after Bantams win at Wrexham

Cook, left out against Wimbledon last week, charged through to force the ball home at the second attempt.

It clinched City’s first league win in nine games – and Wrexham’s first home loss since the opening day.

Cook’s goal came just minutes after he had seen his penalty saved by keeper Arthur Okonkwo.

“You’re not going to get loads of moments and you have to make sure to keep the back door shut,” said Alexander.

“That was the biggest thing for us, to make sure if we did have that moment of quality in front of goal it counted for something real.

“We thought we had it with the penalty but the keeper’s made the save.

“But I saw in the goal an absolute 100 per cent determination from Cooky to make that ball go into the net.

“He’s received it and there are two defenders between him and the goal.

“He’s managed to get through them, the keeper’s made the first save but he’s on hand to get a goal.

“I’m delighted for Cooky. He’s had a difficult couple of weeks, getting sent off and leaving him out last Saturday.

“But I’ve told him publicly and privately that he’s got a massive part to play for this team.

“I’ve been there myself when I’ve missed penalties in big games.

“The whole responsibility comes on your shoulders and you feel you’ve let people down.

“We tried to get the message on to him to keep believing and stay positive. I’m delighted for him and so are the rest of the players as he’s a popular lad.

“We’ve showed a togetherness that I feel we’ve had anyway. But sometimes you need results to emphasise that.”

City’s clean sheet was the first by a visiting club at Wrexham in the league since November 2021 – a run of 51 games.

Calum Kavanagh made his first start in a three-man attack (Image: Thomas Gadd)

Keeper Sam Walker pulled off several saves and the Bantams held firm against a barrage of long throw-ins and crosses.

Alexander added: “I can’t speak highly enough about my players.

“Wrexham are always going to have moments in games because they’ve got an array of talent and their belief is massive from their two-and-a-half year run.

“We go into every game looking to win. We had to defend really well but I tried to instil a belief in our players.

“We had the five-minute brain dump against Crawley. But apart from that I feel defensively we’ve been really strong, really disciplined and structured.

“It’s just taking the moments in front of goal that has let us down.

“That’s the whole team, not just the forwards, it’s midfielders getting in there, defenders from set-pieces and things like that.

“We all have to take responsibility for those opportunities. If we had done that, I think we would have won many more games which we deserve.

“We are where we are. We’ve won a big fixture today for us and hopefully it will give the players and supporters the belief that there’s still something there worth fighting for.”