GRIMSBY Town's three-match unbeaten run came to an end as they were comfortably beaten at home by Bradford City.

After three consecutive league draws looked to have stopped the rot for the Mariners, Neil Woods' first game since landing the manager's job on a permanent basis was not to produce an elusive victory.

Instead, the impressive Simon Whaley gave Bradford a 1-0 half-time lead as Grimsby struggled to create any danger in difficult conditions at Blundell Park.

An Olly Lancashire header from a corner that was well saved by visiting keeper Simon Eastwood was all Town had to show for their first half efforts, although a spell of pressure at the start of the second period hinted at better things to come.

Those hopes were killed off when Steve Williams doubled the visitors' lead with an hour on the clock.

And the West Yorkshire side were not finished there, with James Hanson adding a third goal in the closing stages of the game.

Woods made two changes to the side that fought out a goalless draw at Lincoln on Saturday, with striker Barry Conlon coming in to face his former club in place of Danny North in the Mariners attack.

He was partnered up front by Barnsley loanee Michael Coulson, while another making his home debut in the black and white stripes was midfielder Nicky Featherstone.

The other change to the team saw Jammal Shahin replace Joe Widdowson, with Damien McCrory reverting to his usual left-back slot.

Nick Colgan started in goal, with Peter Bore at right-back, Paul Linwood and Olly Lancashire in the centre of defence and McCrory completing the trio of home debutants at left-back.

Featherstone began on the right wing, with Michael Leary, Peter Sweeney and Shahin making up the midfield.

Conlon and Coulson were the strikers, with Leigh Overton, Adrian Forbes, Danny Boshell, Jamie Clarke, Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro, North and Bradley Wood named as the substitutes.

Bradford headed east looking to improve on a record that had seen them become draw specialists so far this season, with the Bantams taking one point from eight of their 17 games so far.

The visitors included former Grimsby defender Simon Ramsden in their starting XI but there was no place for ex Blundell Park fans' favourite Michael Boulding from the off, with the striker having to settle for a place on the bench alongside his brother, Rory.

Neither side made any early impact in a quiet opening to the game, with the first shot in anger not coming until there were eight minutes on the clock.

The chance was created by the away side after James Hanson beat Linwood on the City right.He then ran into space before cutting the ball back for Gareth Evans to fire wide from inside the penalty area.

Bradford stepped up the tempo and began to take control of the game, with Evans the next to send a low cross in from the right.The ball was missed by Bore but Featherstone was back to clear the danger.

Leary had to chase back after he was beaten by Michael Flynn in the centre of midfield but the former Barnet man stuck to his task and did enough to see the ball out for a goal kick.

Grimsby seemed to be struggling to cope with a strong cross-wind, while the visitors were faring much better as they looked to keep the ball on the floor and build up play from midfield.

Evans made his way into the Town box unchallenged on 23 minutes but Linwood slid in to intercept his attempted low centre.

But Grimsby were not to stay level for much longer as Bradford took the lead with their next attack.

Hanson won a flick-on midway inside the Grimsby half and he found SIMON WHALEY, who took a touch before rifling a low shot past Colgan and into the bottom-left corner of the net from 25 yards.

Coulson won Town's first corner of the night on 28 minutes and from it, the hosts threatened the goal guarded by Simon Eastwood for the first time.

Sweeney's inswinger from the right was met by a firm header from Lancashire that looked destined for the net but the City stopper produced a fine save, pushing the ball away from danger.

Coulson set Bore free two minutes later as the Mariners looked to haul themselves level but the right-back was crowded out by Bradford defenders on the edge of the box.

Then, a cross from the left by Shahin was missed by Conlon, although the offside flag had already been raised against the striker.

A cross from the right by Coulson was easily gathered by Eastwood before Whaley went close at the other end, forcing Colgan to dive to his left to keep out a shot from 18 yards.

Whaley was fouled by McCrory out on the right and midway inside the Town half with two minutes left before the break.The away side were not able to make the most of the opportunity though, as James O'Brien's floated free kick was claimed by Colgan.

A rare Grimsby opportunity came as the match moved into one minute of added time.Bore's cross from the right was missed by Leary but the ball fell to Conlon, in space at the far post.But the big striker failed to control it and the ball bounced off him for a Bradford throw-in.

That proved to be the last real action of the half and as referee Darren Deadman blew for half-time, it was the away side who went into the dressing rooms with the lead.

The Mariners had struggled to pose any attacking threat to Eastwood's goal, while Bradford had looked the more likely to go on and win the game after Whaley's goal.

No changes were made before the restart and the visitors had the first chance to make an impression in the second half when they won a corner within seconds.They did not make it count though, with the whistle going for a foul on Colgan as the ball came across.

Grimsby's first chance of the half was not long in coming either, with some good play between two of the loanees leading to Coulson crossing for Featherstone to shoot inches wide from inside the box.

It was the start of a sustained spell of Mariners pressure, with the ball remaining in the City half as Town looked to force an equaliser.

A Sweeney corner provided another opportunity to cause problems but the kick was poor and Bradford cleared.

The visitors then created some danger of their own, with Whaley shooting wide from 18 yards before a corner from the right came to nothing.

A free kick for a foul on Whaley was cleared, only for Shahin to be penalised for handball and give Bradford another set-piece chance from 25 yards.Whaley shot from it but the low effort was easy for Colgan.

Evans won a corner off Linwood on the left on 59 minutes and from it, they doubled their advantage.

The flag-kick was cleared but it was picked up by Whaley on the left and with Bore nowhere to be seen, he crossed and when the ball glanced off McCrory's head and went back across the six-yard box, WILLIAMS was there to nod into the net from close range.

The first substitution of the game was made by Woods on 64 minutes, with Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro replacing Shahin.That meant Coulson dropped back into midfield, with the Ivorian taking his place alongside Conlon in attack.

Bradford continued to dominate and when Whaley was released by Hanson, Bore could only bring him down, 30 yards from goal.

The free kick was cleared and a brief moment of excitement for the home fans followed, with Akpa Akpro bursting into the Bantams half before going down on the edge of the box.

At the other end, Town could have been looking at a three-goal deficit when Evans was put through down the middle but after turning Bore inside the box, he curled his shot wide of Colgan's goal.

Whaley was involved again when he connected with a cross from the right but his half-volley narrowly cleared the crossbar.

Luke O'Brien fizzed a shot into the side netting from a narrow angle on the left side of the penalty area before a free kick was headed on by Hanson for Conlon to gather.

Grimsby attempts on goal were few and far between, with Leary shooting well over the bar from 25 yards with a quarter of an hour left to play.

Bradley Wood replaced Coulson soon afterwards in a move that saw Bore pushed into a more advanced right wing position.

But still, the Mariners were showing few signs of breaking through and pulling a goal back to throw themselves a lifeline in the game.

Woods' last throw of the dice was to send Forbes on after Lancashire headed wide from a corner on the left.Conlon was the man to make way after enduring a torrid evening against his former employers.

The scoreline was to get worse for the Mariners when Bradford grabbed a third goal with eight minutes to go.

After some neat play down the right, HANSON drilled a shot from 20 yards that beat Colgan at his near post.

Bradford had chances to make it 4-0 but they were not taken, while the Mariners' attempts to force a late consolation goal also proved unsuccessful.

Grimsby remain in trouble in the relegation zone, with Saturday's rearranged game at Macclesfield now taking on extra significance as the Mariners look to stay in touch with the other clubs scrapping for survival.