BRADFORD City teenager Luke Medley experienced a once-in-a-lifetime thrill at Valley Parade that not even a disgruntled and disappointed Brian Carey could begrudge after experiencing a second successive league defeat on the road on Saturday.

The Greenwich-born 18-year-old, released by Spurs during the summer and offered the chance of a one-year deal with the Bantams, came off the bench with 14 minutes of the match remaining to make his full senior debut and within 60 seconds he had scored the home side’s winner with what was his first touch of the ball.

And what a goal it was, one that Medley will certainly never forget and one that will live long in the memory of all who witnessed it.

The threat to Wrexham seemed minimal when City midfielder Kyle Nix – a central figure in the match – won possession on the halfway line and launched the ball forward for Medley to chase.

But as it dropped over his right shoulder and sat up nicely, the teenager took his shot early, firing a vicious first-time effort beyond Anthony Williams and into the top corner of the net.

More than 13,000 City fans jumped out of their seats, as did everyone on the home bench, while more than 500 travelling fans were stunned into silence by the brutal efficiency of the strike.

It was, as Carey admitted afterwards, a goal that deserved to win any game, but the Racecourse boss was less complimentary about match official Michael Oliver, at 22 years old the youngest referee in the Football League.

“The referee is a young lad and he missed two big decisions today,” he said afterwards, claiming Nix handled in the area after Medley’s goal and adding for good measure that the combative midfielder could have been sent off for an earlier scything challenge on winger Matty Done that provoked only a yellow card

“You could probably say I’m gutted with the result, but I thought we played very well,” he added.

“We had a couple of gripes or moans about decisions not given for us because it’s the third occasion we’ve not been given a penalty away from home in three games.

“I don’t think we deserved to go behind and we did enough to have won the game and that’s what was really, really disappointing.

“Some of the football we played today was very good and I think that we are improving all the time. But at the same time you have to make sure you are getting the results and we are gutted.

“After some of the challenges we saw, how the 22 players stayed on the pitch is beyond me.

“We’ve had sendings-off last year go against us and some of the stuff today was comparable.”

Justified or not, Carey’s rebuke for Mr Oliver was clearly more an expression of his own frustration that another promising performance from his new-look side had failed to secure any reward for the effort they had put in.

Under the cosh for the opening 15 minutes of the game, the Dragons gradually gained a foothold in the game and produced several excellent chances as they once again finished the afternoon looking the stronger side.

“I was very pleased with the way we went about it because we knew it would be very tough from the start, “ said Carey.

“The rest of the team gave the defence too much to do early on because we were careless at times.

“But we weathered the storm after about 10 minutes and then got into the game for a major part of the afternoon.

“They threw it at us but we stood up to that and looked like we would win the game, but we didn’t and now we have to move on.

“The two poor decisions which changed the game were vital and crucial but that’s a question for the referee to answer.”

City, seeking to end a 13-match run stretching back to last December without a home win, were clearly up for the task and the visitors were fully stretched in the opening stages.

Midfielder Paul Evans, another of those players who always seems to score against the Dragons, tested Williams as early as the fifth minute, although his effort lacked power.

But he forced a fine save from Williams two minutes later with a clever lob when Danny Williams miscued a clearance and City striker Guylain Ndumbu-Nsungu saw his deflected shot rebound from the frame of the goal shortly afterwards.

Once Wrexham had shaken the coach journey from their legs it was punch and counter-punch, Done posing a threat with his pace and Michael Proctor’s intelligent running giving Carey’s side an attacking edge.

City keeper Donovan Ricketts made a fine save from Done on 22 minutes and after Ndumbu-Nsungu’s ambitious overhead kick was held comfortably by Williams the teenage winger set up Chris Llewellyn for a header that brought another save at the home end.

Nix probably should have put City ahead in the 33rd minute when Ndumbu-Nsungu got the wrong side of Shaun Pejic to pick him out at the near post, the midfielder’s header skewing across the six-yard box, but Carey would have the been the happier of the two bosses at the break.

In time-honoured fashion following so many near-misses, two goals came along within nine minutes of the restart, the home side drawing first blood with a crisp 20-yard drive from Eddie Johnson following a penetrating thrust from team-mate Omar Daley.

Knocked out of their stride, Wrexham were grateful to Williams for a near-post block to deny Mark Bower but they were back on terms in the 54th minute.

A corner won when a Danny Williams header was deflected wide caused the City defence all sorts of problems and Williams did well to clip the ball back from the byline for Neil Roberts to net his first of the season with a deft header.

With little to separate the sides Evans went close to restoring City’s lead with a free-kick, but it took Medley’s stunner to inject fresh impetus into what was becoming a battle of wills.

Wrexham’s response at the second time of asking, although not short of application and effort, fell just short and Carey’s penalty claim after Done’s late effort appeared to strike Nix on the arm smacked more of desperation than conviction.

The Racecourse boss can take comfort though from the thought that his side will play worse this season and win, even if the traditional luck of the Irish has temporarily deserted him.