Dean Windass grabbed three precious points for Bradford City with a 25-yard free-kick in the 87th minute.
The veteran striker, who is being chased by Barnsley, had been fairly anonymous up to that point but his powerful shot had home keeper Steve Collis grasping air.
It was a real smash and grab effort, for Yeovil had totally dominated the match for long spells.
In the first half in particular they produced attack after attack without creating many clear chances. Crosses rained in from both wings but the City defence, with David Wetherall outstanding, were on top form.
Yeovil had lost key midfielders Lee Johnson (to Hearts) and Darren Way (to Swansea) during the past 10 days but it didn't show as their reshaped midfield took command early on.
The best attempt of the first half came from Yeovil's top scorer Phil Jevons, who held his head in disbelief as his brilliant shot from the edge of the box brought a save to match from Donovan Ricketts.
From the subsequent corner the Glovers had another opportunity, but this time Mark Bower came to the rescue, blocking an effort from Scott Guyett.
In the second half City switched to a 4-2-4 formation and looked more comfortable. Steve Claridge showed bursts of speed that belied his years, but until that Windass winner there was no real sign of the deadlock being broken.
In stoppage-time Yeovil substitute Pablo Bastianini brought another great save from Ricketts, but by then the home fans had realised it just wasn't their day.