Bradford City are still cut adrift at the bottom of the Premiership but, after their first away win for nine months, their impressive new manager Jim Jefferies can at least view everyone else without recourse to a powerful telescope.

Here, despite losing their previous three games and with half their squad in the treatment room, they played with vigour and a scarcely plausible confidence to inflict upon Leicester only their second defeat at home.

Leicester never looked likely to recover once a gaffe by their goalkeeper Tim Flowers put them two down. Flowers, who played only after passing a fitness test on his injured thigh, did not reappear for the second half.

Before the end, almost mockingly, Stan Collymore came off the bench to face the Leicester side with whom he had had such a brief and unhappy association. But by that stage Filbert Street was beyond further embarrassment.

Eoin Jess, on loan to Bradford from Aberdeen, made an eye-catching debut operating just behind the forwards Dean Saunders and Robbie Blake and scored the opening goal in the 25th minute.

It was from his pass that Blake cut inside Robbie Savage only to see his deflected shot cleared off the line by Andy Impey. From the rebound Jess drove past Flowers. Jess's loan agreement lasts three months but Jefferies hopes to make the move permanent after that.

Leicester had not recovered when, five minutes later, they fell further behind. Phil Gilchrist fouled Dean Windass and from the free-kick, just outside the penalty area, Wayne Jacobs scored. Although Flowers was partially unsighted he got down for the ball, only to see it roll through his arms.

Leicester pulled one back seven minutes before half-time with a Muzzy Izzet penalty after Windass had brought down Darren Eadie.

Leicester: Flowers (Royce 46), Rowett, Elliott, Gilchrist, Impey, Eadie (Guppy 46), Robbie Savage, Jones (Benjamin 60), Izzet, Gunnlaugsson, Akinbiyi. Subs Not Used: Sinclair, Oakes. Goals: Izzet 38 pen.

Bradford: Walsh, Atherton (Myers 74), Molenaar, O'Brien, Jacobs, McKinlay, McCall, Jess, Blake (Collymore 85), Saunders (Rankin 87), Windass. Subs Not Used: Clarke, Beagrie. Booked: Jacobs, Windass, McKinlay. Goals: Jess 25, Jacobs 30. Attendance: 19,278.

Referee: S Lodge (Barnsley).