The Bantams required victories over Crewe and Leyton Orient in their final two games of the season.
Bradford's prospects of receiving automatic promotion were dashed, Mark Hughes lamented, by a frenetic incident at Gresty Road.
The Bantams required victories over Crewe and Leyton Orient in their final two games of the season.
However, after mounting a comeback in the second half to offset Dan Agyei's two goals for the Railwaymen in the first half, they were defeated by a penalty that Chris Long converted in stoppage time.
To guarantee a spot in the play-offs, they now need a point from Monday's home game against the League Two champions.
When a game becomes end-to-end like it did, there is always a chance that a ball would fall into a particular region, according to Hughes.
"Anything can happen, and we needed to take control of it and get our foot on the ball, which we didn't do.
But in light of the situation, we had to come back really strongly after falling behind 2-0, and we did so. However, we made a number of quick mistakes that allowed the goals to be scored.
"We have a big game coming up, and we need to get ready for Leyton Orient on Monday. The crowd will be tremendous when we play again since we need a point to guarantee a spot in the playoffs.
Although we would have preferred to resolve it tonight, there is still much to play for. I anticipate a response from the players against Orient because I am aware of their potential.
Agyei's speed and strength in the first half, when he tore away and defeated goalkeeper Harry Lewis at his near post, caught Bradford off guard.
Agyei extended the advantage in the 43rd minute by converting Long's low cross.
However, Bradford showed off their strength with an explosive start to the second half, and Andy Cook headed in Richie Smallwood's corner.
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