"TAKE a bow Zavon Hines, because out of absolutely nothing he worked hard and won his team a corner.”

Don Goodman’s commentary may not stand the test of time quite as well as Kenneth Wolstenholme’s “they think it’s all over” Wembley mantra.

But his words in the aftermath of City’s semi-final goal at Villa Park summed up one of the unsung “history makers”.

While everyone remembers that James Hanson header from Gary Jones’ set-piece, few will recall whose effort won the corner off defender Matthew Lowton.

Hines is not one of the names that springs immediately to mind among the heroes of 2012/13. Yet he featured in two-thirds of the marathon 65-game campaign.

With City facing Northampton once more this weekend, memories inevitably flood back to that remarkable campaign.

Hines remained a spectator from the bench as the Bantams clinically settled that play-off final against the Cobblers inside the opening half hour.

His role in a remarkable year had been in getting them to the national stadium first time around; another component in the first fourth-tier team to reach a major Wembley final.

Hines is currently looking to rebuild his career in the National League with Maidstone. It is going well – with four goals in the last three games – as he eyes a return to playing higher-level football again after a string of injuries.

But recollections of his year at Valley Parade are never far away

“It was a very special time,” he recalled this week. “I still like to watch the big moments now and again and I’ll put on YouTube.

“As a unit, I don’t think I’ve played in any other team like that. We worked so hard for each other and were so organised.

“I played with some quality players at West Ham but the spirit and togetherness we had at Bradford was amazing and took us so far.

“We may not have been the best ability-wise but we were exceptional work-rate wise and that’s why we were successful.”

There are two stand-out nights for Hines during the Capital One Cup run which brought the League Two Bantams to the attention of the whole country and beyond.

Hines was not among the penalty takers in the dramatic fourth-round win at Wigan. But his 106-minute lung-busting shift contributed as much as anyone to their first top-flight scalp.

“I don’t think we really gave ourselves a chance,” he said.

“We just thought ‘let’s go for the experience against a Premier League club and see how long we could match them’.

“But we were so organised in that game and worked so hard.

“I was still trying to build up my fitness at the time and remember doing a lot of running. But we were under the cosh so I had to do it.

“Whenever we had the ball, I tried to get as far upfield as I could as quickly as possible. I was a bit disappointed not to score in the end but it was a game I really enjoyed.”

But Hines saved his best performance for the semi-final first leg, when Aston Villa were humbled at an electric Valley Parade. Villa left back Joe Bennett nearly ended up on the ring road after being twisted and turned constantly.

“Putting in that performance against a Premier League side felt great,” said Hines.

“Obviously I believe in my own ability and know I can give defenders problems and I thought I did that.

“Nahki (Wells) and big Jim (James Hanson) took all the headlines – but I’m all right with that because we all did it as a team.”

His shirt from the final remains a precious souvenir, though one tinged with disappointment at not being named in the starting line-up. By the time Hines was summoned for action, Swansea were already 4-0 up.

He said: “It was frustrating because I’d been starting every game up until the final. I think I was the only change, so it was hard.

“But just to be part of the day was absolutely fantastic and to run out on the pitch is something I’ll never forget.”

The close-knit bond within the group that Hines mentions was evident in the post-Wembley run that saw City return to the same stage three months later.

He said: “Nobody gave us a chance for the play-offs. But the way we did it after the cup final showed that spirit.

“The whole run was just down to working so hard to achieve it and no-one can take that away from us.”

The intervening years have been tough for Hines but he is confident of returning to where he believes he should be – although nothing will come close to what he shared at Valley Parade.

He said: “I still speak to Kyel Reid and I was talking to Blair (Turgott) the other day. I text and call a few others.

“I still watch out for the club and I’ve got a couple of friends there now, Dom Poleon and Jake Reeves.

“But I’ll look out for Bradford anyway because of that time. The club will always be close to me.”