Patrick Agyemang crowned his home debut with a sensational first goal in a Gillingham shirt and is set to become a big terrace hero at Priestfield.
The 23-year-old joined for an undisclosed fee earlier this month and made an immediate impact in his first game at Derby a fortnight ago and was unlucky not to score at Pride Park.
Linking up with Darius Henderson in a new strike partnership he produced pace and power to score the goal that earned Gillingham their first league of 2004.
Another youngster with a bright future, Danny Spiller, made the chance with an excellent pass and Agyemang seized on the loose ball, jagged it past a defender to fire home past Bradford keeper Alan Combe.
However, it was Combe who grabbed the headlines later after being sent off late in the first half after barging into referee David Crick.
Combe was unhappy about a challenge by Henderson that went unpunished, but took his frustration too far and will now face a three-match ban.
It made struggling City's task even harder but gave 20-year old Australian rookie Clint Davies an unexpected league debut and he did not let anybody down.
He made a fine save from Henderson a minute after coming off the bench and also denied Agyemang late on when he could have almost completed a debut hat-trick.
Gills boss Andy Hessenthaler was delighted with Agyemang's performance. He won't reveal exactly how much Gillingham paid to sign him but said: "His pace is unbelievable and I'm expecting great things from him now that we've got him on a long-term contract." Agyemang added: "I was very happy to score on my debut. It was a wrench to leave Wimbledon, but I am here now and have settled in very quickly." Gillingham had a third new signing also making his home debut. Former Grimsby midfielder Alan Pouton shone in a good Gills midfield display and was inches away from crowning his first home game with a goal.
Bradford boss Bryan Robson faces a hard task to keep Bradford in Division One. His team registered only one shot on target all afternoon and he admitted Combe's dismissal made life even harder.