Bantams midfielder Billy Knott was given just over an hour in the reserves this Tuesday during City's Final Third Development League fixture with Morecambe at the club's Apperley Bridge training ground.
Knott started the game and played in an attacking midfield role just behind the main striker before being substituted in the 65th minute.
Despite dominated the game from virtually start to finish, City's second string lost the encounter - their final home game of the season - due to a strike from Morecambe skipper Charlie Bailey ten minutes from time.
The defeat was only City's second of the season in the Final Third Development League - West Division.
On a beautifully sunny afternoon, City bossed proceedings from early on but chances were still limited in the opening period.
Sumaili Cissa fired wide a few minutes into the game after being teed up by Niah Payne just outside the area but it was Knott who came closest to breaking the deadlock in the first half.
His rising shot from just outside the box roughly on the half hour mark was tipped over the bar thanks to a smart reflex save from Morecambe shot-stopper Max Povey.
Apprentice defender Luca Mellor then tested Povey again shortly afterwards when he forced the goalkeeper to claim his header from a Bantams corner.
Having worn their red and black striped shirts for the first half, Morecambe were forced to wear their green training vests over the top following the interval, presumably because the officials thought the Shrimps' jerseys had looked too close to City's predominantly claret home shirts in the opening forty-five.
Regardless of the shirt change though, City continued on the front-foot after the interval, controlling possession for long periods.
Morecambe actually enjoyed the first opening in the second half when experienced defender Adam Dudgale headed over from a wide free-kick but City came back at the visitors through a shot in the box by Cissa shortly afterwards that was saved by Povey.
A minute or so after Knott's departure from the field, City's next promising fell at the feet of Xander McBurnie following Chandler Hallwood's booming kick forward the but midfielder could only fire straight at Povey as the ball bounced into his path inside Morecambe's area.
The ball continued to remain largely in Morecambe's half as the second period progressed, with Payne firing wide with an angled drive from outside the box.
Substitute Tom Windle then came within inches of giving City the lead when he struck the bar with a rising strike after being found in the area via a low cut-back from Ellis Hudson.
The Bantams were made to pay for that near miss barely a couple of minutes later when Morecambe shocked City by taking the lead with a rare attack.
After playing a one-two with Louis Myers, Bailey found himself in space inside City's penalty area and the midfielder finished well with a drilled strike past Hallwood.
City tried to respond in the time remaining but substitute Daniel Devine saw a shot from just inside the box repelled by Povey before McBurnie fired over after a well-timed run into the area.
CITY XI
1. Chandler Hallwood
2. Luca Mellor
3. Jack Waters
4. Sam Wright
5. Kesi Omolokun
6. James King
7. Sumaili Cissa
8. Xander McBurnie
9. Niah Payne
11. Ellis Hudson
20. Billy Knott
Substitutes:
14. Kwame Boateng
15. Tom Windle
16. Ville Moilanen
17. Daniel Devine
Substitutions:
Devine for Knott (65), Windle for Waters (74), Boateng for Payne (81)