Leading scorer Lee Mills put the seal on Bradford City's eighth Division One win in their last 10 matches with his 20th goal of the season.

Promotion rivals Watford - who trailed 1-0 at half-time - were making a determined effort to equalise when Mills scored Bradford's second goal after 62 minutes.

Defender Robert Page failed to tackle Robbie Blake just inside the penalty area, and the ball ran free for the unmarked Mills to stroke the ball into the net with his left foot.

Bradford's fifth home win in a row enabled them to retain second place in an increasingly competitive race at the top as they bounced back from the disappointment of losing 2-1 at Birmingham last Sunday to a stoppage-time penalty.

Captain Stuart McCall set them on their road to victory.

The 34-year-old former Scotland international gave them a deserved half-time lead with a superbly struck 30-yard right-foot shot in the ninth minute after Gareth Whalley's free-kick had been only partially cleared by the Watford defence.

Goalkeeper Alec Chamberlain had to be at his best four minutes later to keep out a 25-yard snap shot from Bradford's best player Blake as the home side kept up the pressure.

The skilful striker was at the heart of most of Bradford's best moves as they displayed the form that has kept them in the thick of the promotion race for most of the season.

Watford struggled to find a chink in the home defence as Bradford dominated the first half, but Graham Taylor's team were a different proposition immediately after the interval.

A 20-yard shot from Micah Hyde almost surprised Gary Walsh in the first minute of the second half, but the Bradford goalkeeper managed to turn the ball over the bar.

The Bantams survived Watford's pressure before gradually regaining control, and after Mills saw his left-foot shot graze the post in the 59th minute he put the result beyond doubt with Bradford's second goal three minutes later.

There were two narrow escapes for Bradford in the 72nd minute when Nick Wright's header was turned away by Walsh, who then saved Alan Smart's shot on the rebound.

Teams:

Bradford: Walsh, Wright, Jacobs, McCall, O'Brien, Westwood, Lawrence, Blake, Mills, Whalley, Beagrie.

Subs Not Used: Rankin, Dreyer, Ramage.

Goals: McCall 9, Mills 62.

Watford: Chamberlain, Bazeley, Palmer, Page, Iroha (Hazan 75), Daley (Gudmundsson 62), Johnson, Hyde (Robinson 75), Kennedy, Smart, Wright.

Booked: Iroha, Daley.

Att: 14,142

Ref: D Pugh (Wirral).