Shepherd's mistake was the final act of a scintillating affair at the County Ground. The defender turned a Miguel Freckleton cross past his own keeper in the 97th minute. With tensions running high, a number of Robins players surrounded the prostrate Shepherd, sparking some fisticuffs between both sets of players.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Bradford had taken a two goal lead as Calum Kavanagh bagged twice in the opening ten minutes. The game turned after Richie Smallwood was shown a straight red for a reckless lunge on Swindon's Paul Glatzel. That set the tone for a fractious back-and-forth affair. Kavanagh completed his hat-trick in the first half, and Bradford were leading 4-3 entering injury time. A far-post header for Harry Smith, his second goal of the game, levelled things at 90 minutes, before Shepherd's error gave Swindon, now managed by Ian Holloway, all three points.
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Bradford's loss drops them from the top of League Two. Port Vale have now leapt to the top of the table. Sitting in second place on 73 points, the Bantams will be looking over their shoulder at Doncaster in fourth. Donny can overtake them if they win their game in hand. Three teams are automatically promoted to League One, but Bradford will be ruing this missed opportunity to solidify their promotion push.
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WHAT NEXT?
The Bantams will have to dust themselves off before their Thursday-night fixture against Notts County. Swindon travel to Grimsby Town on Good Friday.