Bradford boss Hughes insists Pereira is moving in the 'right direction' after Luton attacker opens Bantams account in Red Devils draw

Luton's Dion Pereira was on target for Bradford City at the weekend

Town attacker Dion Pereira is beginning to start ‘trending in the ‘right direction’ according to Bradford City boss Mark Hughes after he scored the first goal of his second spell at the Bantams during their 1-1 draw with Crawley Town in League One on Saturday.

The 23-year-old had made 10 appearances since his move back to the University of Bradford Stadium in September, grabbing an assist against Swindon Town in Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw.

Pereira, who scored once in 10 outings last season, was and running on his 11th match at the weekend when bursting through to collect Tyreik Wright's pass and deftly beat onrushing Red Devils keeper Ellery Balcombe to make it 1-0 with 55 minutes gone

The visitors swiftly hit back just after the hour mark though when James Tilley fired in a free kick as the spoils were shared, but speaking to the Bradford Telegraph & Argus, Hughes said: “I thought he increased his output from Tuesday.

"I thought he did well then and was better again and scored his goal to top off a good performance from him.

“He’s trending in the right direction.”

Pereira had gone close before his goal, denied by Balcombe and then had another effort deflect behind for a corner before being replaced on 74 minutes by Scott Banks.

He tweeted after the match: “Shame about the result…

"But on a personal note happy to finally score after a frustrating period.”

Town midfielder Elliot Thorpe wasn't involved for Burton Albion as they lost 4-2 at Sheffield Wednesday in League One.

Striker Aribim Pepple was a second half substitute for Grimsby Town as they were beaten 2-1 by Hartlepool in League Two on Saturday.

The visitors had led on six minutes through a wonder strike from former Pools player Gavan Holohan.

The second period saw Pepple replace Taylor on 63 minutes as he went close to a second, firing wide on the turn.

However, the hosts were level on 78 when former Luton defender Alex Lacey headed home, and they went on to claim all three points four minutes later, Niall Maher diverting a free kick into his own net

Attacker Josh Neufville had 66 minutes as Sutton were beaten 3-0 by Stockport County.