Bradford (Park Avenue) were condemned to their first league defeat since October 2018 by Guiseley, in a Yorkshire derby somewhat marred by controversy.

In contrasting fashion to the Boxing Day encounter, Guiseley carved open more opportunities than Bradford did in the early stages.

An in-swinging delivery from Alex Purver caused chaos in the box and Will Thornton and Kingsley James both saw efforts blocked in the midst of a goalmouth scramble.

Thornton came close again moments later, sending a glancing header agonisingly wide of the post after Andrew Halls delivered from the right.

Bradford, however, grew into the game and began to cause problems of their own as the half progressed.
Jake Beesley nodded into the path of Oli Johnson, who drew a save from Marcus Dewhurst with a low drive.
The visitors were then given another scare when Lewis Knight’s cross struck the crossbar before dropping behind for a goal-kick.

Guiseley remained in contention despite an increase in the frequency of Bradford’s attacks and another goalmouth scramble ensued on the half-hour mark. Several players saw shots blocked before Oli Johnson managed to blast clear.

Lions stopper Dewhurst was forced to pull off a magnificent save to deny Beesley, tipping his flicked header over the woodwork after the striker met Nicky Clee’s long-throw.

Minutes after his throw teed up Beesley, Clee found himself furiously appealing for a penalty after being bundled to the ground by Kingsley James. Despite the protests from an incensed group of Bradford players, the referee deemed the incident to have taken place outside of the box.

The deadlock was broken by Guiseley on the stroke of half-time when Kayode Odejayi met Alex Purver’s free-kick delivery and nodded beyond the outstretched glove of Drench.

HALF-TIME: Bradford (Park Avenue) 0-1 Guiseley

Dewhurst was called into action early in the first-half, being forced to deny Beesley with his left leg after the forward burst into the box and struck low.

The pinpoint accuracy of Purver’s crosses continued to cause Bradford problems in the second-half and he found Rowan Liburd with a particularly impressive one. The forward leapt above his marker to meet the delivery but directed his header wide.

Former Nethermoor favourite Johnson drew level with 25 minutes remaining on the clock, steering home from close-range after the ball fell kindly to him inside the box.

However, celebrations were short-lived as Guiseley’s advantage was restored just five minutes later. Liburd advanced before flicking beyond Drench and into the bottom corner.

With fifteen minutes remaining, Bradford substitute Jamie Spencer was shown a second yellow card following a scuffle with Niall Heaton. To the fury of the home supporters, the Lions defender didn’t receive his marching orders for his involvement in the fracas.

The ten-man hosts failed to trouble the visitors in the late stages, miscuing crosses and shots whilst struggling to find any sort of rhythm.

Guiseley’s lead was almost added to on the stroke of full-time, but Mark Ross denied Liburd with an excellent block in the 6-yard box.

FULL-TIME: Bradford (Park Avenue) 1-2 Guiseley

Bradford (Park Avenue): Drench, Toulson (Nowakowski 80’), Lowe, Hurst (Spencer 50’), Ross, Havern, Knight, Branson, Beesley, Johnson (c) (McKenna 82’), Clee.

Unused substitutes: Wroe, Killock.

Guiseley: Dewhurst, Moyo, Heaton, Purver, Thornton, Halls (c), Odejayi, James, Liburd, Hatfield, Smith (Felix 85’).

Unused substitutes: Green, Walsh, Walters, Clayton.

Referee: Paul Brown

Attendance: 665

Bradford (Park Avenue) extended their unbeaten league run to eleven games with a 2-2 draw against Boston United.

The high-flying visitors raced out of the blocks, heaping pressure on a Boston side that seemed shell-shocked by the early bombardment of attacks.

Oli Johnson was denied by Pilgrims stopper George Willis at close-range before Alex Hurst’s follow-up was hooked off the line in dramatic fashion.

Lewis Knight demonstrated his willingness to drive at Boston’s backline with an incisive dart that took him past Ashley Jackson, but his low cross was collected by Willis.

The onslaught continued, and Johnson was unlucky to see his cross fail to be capitalised upon after reaching the byline and firing across the face of goal.

The Bradford talisman then saw a close-range effort kept out by the right leg of Willis before Nicky Wroe’s follow-up found the wrong side of the crossbar.

Willis was called into action again soon after, being forced to push Gianluca Havern’s header wide after the defender had connected with Lewis Knight’s free-kick delivery.

Boston did enjoy an opportunity of their own on the half-hour mark, but Gavin Allott’s shot from inside the 18-yard box cannoned off the outstretched leg of a sliding Shane Killock.

The visitors were rewarded for the intense pressure heaped upon the hosts in the 35th minute when Knight opened the scoring in sensational fashion. The in-form marksman lifted the ball over the head of Willis from a long-range free-kick to send the travelling supporters into a frenzy.

He then came close to doubling his and the team’s tally, but his chipped effort found the wrong side of the woodwork.

HALF-TIME: Boston United 0-1 Bradford (Park Avenue)

Bradford were delivered an early blow in the second-half when Killock was adjudged to have fouled Nicky Walker inside the box. Ben Davies stepped up and converted despite Drench getting a fingertip to the effort.

Three minutes later, Max Wright fired the Pilgrims into the lead with a deflected strike that wrong-footed a helpless Drench.

The double salvo rallied Boston, who began to take control of an affair that Bradford dominated in the first-half.

Ryan Qualter nodded over the woodwork after connecting with Davies’ delivery, moments before Jay Rollins found Wright with an inch-perfect cross and the midfielder rattled the crossbar with a header.

Substitute Jordan Slew almost made an immediate impact following his introduction, drawing an impressive stop from Drench with a low drive from the left-hand side of the box.

Allott then tried his luck from close-range but was thwarted by Danny Lowe, who made a superb block.

Bradford launched a swift counter-attack as they hunted for an equaliser and Adam Nowakowski skipped past two players as he accelerated down the right flank. He squared to Beesley, who struck into the midriff of Willis and could only watch as Hurst followed up and fired over the crossbar.

Beesley was thwarted again just two minutes later as Willis tipped his powerful header wide at full stretch.

A scramble in the box saw several Bradford players desperately swing their foot at the ball as it bounced around, but Qualter hacked clear.

Deep into stoppage time, a point was salvaged when Ben McKenna burst forward and drilled past Willis with admirable composure.

FULL-TIME: Boston United 2-2 Bradford (Park Avenue)

Boston United: Willis, Davies, Jackson, Thanoj, Gibbens, Qualter, Wright, Abbott, Allott, Rollins (Slew 69’), Walker (Wafula 83’).

Unused substitutes: Chisholm, Rowe.

Bradford (Park Avenue): Drench, Ross, Lowe, Wroe (Clee 76’), Killock (c), Havern, Knight, Branson, Beesley, Johnson (Nowakowski 72’), Hurst (McKenna 82’).

Unused substitutes: Toulson, Spencer.

Referee: David McNamara

Bradford Park Avenue’s Boxing Day clash with mid-table outfit Guiseley AFC was not one that disappointed the fans who made the trip to Nethermoor.

Jake Beesley celebrates his first goal of the afternoon – Photo by John Rhodes

Captain Oli Johnson opened the proceedings on 3 minutes after latching on to a pass from Alex Hurst, calmly slotting the ball past Joe Green who was in between the sticks for Guiseley. Then, on 19 minutes, Jake Beesley made it two for Avenue after he collected a long ball by Knight and powered home for his first of the afternoon.

8 minutes later, Jake Beesley notched his second of the game after deftly lifting the ball over the onrushing Green. This goal saw Avenue race into a three-goal lead on 27 minutes, surely a dream return to Nethermoor for Mark Bower. A few vital stops from Steve Drench against Guiseley danger man Rowan Liburd and penalty appeals from Guiseley waved away by referee Dean Watson saw Avenue through to half time with a three-goal advantage over the home side.

Half Time: Guiseley 0 – 3 Bradford

Avenue, again, were quick from the restart when on 54 minutes they were awarded a penalty. Beesley confidently stepped up and although Green got a strong hand to it, it was not enough to deny the number 9 converting and completing his hat-trick.

4 minutes later, another astounding run from Alex Hurst and the resulting shot saw Avenue awarded with a corner, from which Conor Branson bundled home Bradford’s 5th of the afternoon. Around 10 minutes later, in the 67th, Guiseley pulled one back after a loose ball from a goal mouth scramble was fired home by Alex Purver.

Just 2 minutes after conceding, Gianluca Havern was then shown a red card after a late challenge. With that, Avenue had to play out the final 20 minutes of the game with 10-men. Luckily for Avenue, a Guiseley comeback was well out of question, all-be-it more vital saves from Drench made absolutely sure of this.

Finally, after 3 minutes of additional time, the referee drew proceedings to a close at Nethermoor, and the game ended with Bradford Park Avenue claiming a 5-1 victory over the home side and maintaining their position at the top of the table.

Full Time: Guiseley 1 – 5 Bradford

Next Saturday’s fixture sees Bradford face up against Boston United away at the Jakemans Stadium. K.O: 3pm

Bradford (Park Avenue) returned to the league summit with a hard-fought victory over Hereford.

The visitors were given an early scare when Lewis Knight delivered from the right and Jordan Cullinane-Liburd’s misdirected header cannoned off the crossbar.

Nicky Wroe then tried his luck from distance but saw his swerving effort fly wide.
George Lloyd was the first Hereford player to catch a glimpse of goal and his shot was struck with venom, but the ball whistled narrowly wide of the post.

The hosts then had the ball in the back of the net when Oli Johnson swivelled and lashed past Matt Yates. However, to the dismay of the home supporters, the linesman’s flag appeared, and the goal was ruled out for offside.
Both sides continued to throw caution to the wind in the first-half and there was little reluctance to attack. A neat exchange between Tom Owen-Evans and Kyle Finn created space for the former to shoot but his effort was blocked by the outstretched boot of Mark Ross.

Nicky Wroe then saw a shot blocked on the stroke of half-time after skipping past two players and pulling the trigger.

HALF-TIME: Bradford (Park Avenue) 0-0 Hereford

Drench had to be alert to deny Hereford marksman Kyle Finn immediately after the restart, holding on to a thunderous strike from the forward.

Bradford then threatened with a swift counter-attack, which saw Oli Johnson thread through to an advancing Jake Beesley. The loanee skipped past Yates but was edged wide and blazed over the crossbar.
Johnson created an opportunity for himself by racing past Greenslade and making an incisive dart into the box, but his shot was lifted over the woodwork.

Despite Bradford’s pressure, the Bulls remained in contention and went close through George Lloyd. The forward drifted into space but his curling effort found the wrong side of the post.

The hosts broke the deadlock with twenty minutes remaining when Knight capitalised on a defensive mix-up to burst into the box and tap into a vacated net.

Despite having a deficit to overturn, Hereford failed to produce a response as the Bradford backline remained sturdy.
Penalty appeals were dismissed in stoppage time as Hereford players surrounded the referee, believing that James Roberts had been fouled inside the box.

Bradford were then appealing for a penalty of their own when Beesley was felled but the official, once again, ignored the protests.

FULL-TIME: Bradford (Park Avenue) 1-0 Hereford

Bradford (Park Avenue): Drench, Toulson, Lowe, Wroe (Spencer 77’), Ross, Havern, Knight (McKenna 81’), Branson, Beesley, Johnson (c) (Killock 90+4’), Clee.

Unused substitutes: Dawson, Hurst.

Hereford: Yates, Thomas, Greenslade, O’Sullivan, Cullinane-Liburd (c), Gowling, Dinsley, Owen-Evans, Finn (Roberts 72’), Lloyd (Dielna 84’), Symons.

Unused substitutes: Murphy, Wharton, Horsell.

Referee: Adam Herczog

Attendance: 448