Bradford (Park Avenue) fell to a second successive home defeat at the hands of near neighbours Farsley Celtic.

Full-back Thomas Allan opened the scoring before both sides struck the woodwork in a frantic second half.

However late in the game, Jack Bennett allowed a Jordan Richards shot to trickle through his legs, with Ben Atkinson adding a third deep into added time with a thumping effort.

It was a miserable defeat for Marcus Law’s men, who had shown much promise in recent matches.

The away side actually had the ball in the back of the net with just five minutes on the clock, but Farsley captain Danny Ellis was adjudged to have fouled his man as he climbed to win the header.

Celtic were enjoying a lot of space out wide, and fashioned the next opening as Luke Parkin cut inside but dragged his effort past the post from 20 yards.

Moments later, Bradford had the best chance of the first period, after a brilliant move.

Isiah Bazeley and Lewis Knight combined excellently down the right before the on-loan Aston Villa man pulled the ball back, only for Knight’s finish to just fade away from the top corner and fly wide.

Farsley had a few questionable shouts for a penalty and Riccardo Calder hit a tame effort into Kyle Trennery’s arms as a tight first half ended goalless.

The second period continued in a particularly fast paced manner, and Farsley fired Avenue a warning moments before taking the lead.

Left-back Allan delivered a brilliant cross and James Spencer struck the near post with his effort.

Avenue scrambled the ball away for a corner but weren’t awake to a short move, Tyler Walton delivering a great inswinging cross which Allan rose to flick into the bottom corner.

Alex Hurst then worried Trennery with a low drive before Bradford stopper Bennett was down sharply to deny Spencer after the home defence failed to clear a throw-in.

Avenue conceded a cheap free kick on the edge of the box seconds later, and were almost made to pay as Parkin’s thunderous strike rattled the post with Bennett rooted to the spot.

Less than five minutes later is was the hosts’ turn to strike the woodwork as Marcus Wood’s weaving run through midfield ended on the edge of the box, his low left-footed effort cannoning off the foot of the upright.

Both sides chased the all-important second goal, but it was Farsley who got it with four minutes to play in the cheapest fashion.

Substitute Nathan Cartman played a brilliant through-ball for Richards, who took on the shot first time and his effort straight at Bennett slipped through the goalkeepers grasp and trickled over the line.

And the visitors added a third in stoppage time to add some deserved gloss to the final score. Cartman brilliantly dummied Spencer’s cut-back and Atkinson arrived to thump the ball into the top corner from just outside the box.

Bradford (Park Avenue): Bennett, Lund (c), Calder, Wood, Digbeu, Bazeley, Knight, Marriott (Holmes 67), Cresswell, Hurst, Headley (Dockerty 58)

Subs not used: Gibbons, Laird, Moran

Booked: Headley (16), Digbeu (42)

Farsley Celtic: Trennery, Richards, Allan, Walton (Maltby 90), Ellis (c), Clayton, B.Atkinson, C.Atkinson, Spencer, Parkin (Cartman 79), Syers (Baldwin 67)

Subs not used: Wynne, Hayhurst

Goals: Allan (50), Richards (86), B.Atkinson (90+4)

Booked: Ellis (57)

Referee: Aaron Bannister

Attendance: 508

Words: Joe Cockburn
Image: John Rhodes

Avenue twice drop points and suffered late heartbreak against AFC Telford in a highly entertaining game at the Horsfall Stadium on Saturday.

Two goals from Brenon Daniels and Adam Walker undid the good work that the side had shown in the previous game. The final outcome, a 3-2 home defeat adding fresh concerns to Marcus Law about his side’s defensive frailty that harshly saw Park Avenue leave home with nothing.

Looking to build on their first win of the season against Darlington on Monday, Park Avenue started the brighter of the two sides with two chances in quick succession falling to Lewis Knight in the Telford six yard box.

Knight continues to impress at the club and showed early glimpses of why Law is keen to play him in the middle rather than out wide, busting a gut to chase numerous attempted through balls.

Nelson Digbeu had another hugely impressive opening at the back. Tall, quick, combative and comfortable on the ball under the pressure, he ticks a lot of boxes for Marcus Law at the back.

Whilst Park Avenue where playing with the confidence and relentless drive carried over from the Darlington game in the opening quarter, the games first goal came in the 28th minute from Daniels, who had a simple tap in at the far post after a lapse in defence had seen Avenue fail to deal with a cross into the box.

The goal which came against the run of play, seemed to immediately stir Avenue into fightback mode and less than ten minutes later, they had drawn level at 1-1.

Park Avenue’s first goal at home this season and of the game came from an exciting passage of play. Lewis Knight controlled a superb 60-yard ball in space from Riccard Calder to advance inside the Telford box and slip the ball inch perfect past Telford goalkeeper, Andrew Wycherley, who was caught in a one on one situation.

Knight had read the cross, broken free and could not miss. It was a moment of brilliance from the young Bradford forward, who continue to come of age at the Horsfall Stadium.

Seconds after Knight had equalised for Park Avenue, Marcus Dinanga had for forced a corner for the visitors, but Taylor was on hand to deal with a mad scramble to recover the ball in the Avenue box.

However, moments before the break Telford punished Bradford again, this time from Walker, who had the space and time to strike the ball past Taylor from 20 yards out into the Aveneue net to give the visitors a 2-1 lead at the interval.

The second half began with Bradford in the ascendecey, wrestling the momentum back and Knight saw a chance float inches over the Telford bar.

Bradford continued to push hard with Isaac Marriot, Brad Dockerty, Jaheim Headley and Alex Hurst all continuing to shine.

A defence-splitting past from Marcus Wood had put Dockerty through and the young forward took the ball on the right foot and fired a shot that Wycherley fumbled but recovered.

Bradford could then sense the game was there for the taking, adopting a gung-ho attitude as they went for the jugular trying to draw level.

To their credit and endeavour, they did just that for the second time in the match after they broke at pace from deep with Calder mirroring the earlier effort from Edwards, sending a 20-yard rocket past a static Wycherley into the roof of the net to send the Horsfall Stadium into wild celebration.

Bradford sensed three points were on the horizon but just couldn’t find much joy after that moment of magic from Calder as the game entered the final ten minutes.

Queue more defensive chaos in the Park Avenue box, a frustrating feature of Park Avenue’s campaign so far this season as Telford snatched victory with only minutes remaining through Daniels’s second goal of the game.

Avenue undone by a curling cross from Aaron Williams which connected with Daniels, who had somehow beaten six defenders in the 18-yard box.

Rhys Taylor had no time to react as he and the rest of the Park Avenue players on the pitch could only watch in disappointment as the ball rolled painfully over the line to give Telford three points in a thoroughly entertaining advert for the National League North.

Photo credit: John Rhodes

Match Report: Mick Gledhill

Bradford (Park Avenue) claimed their first win of the season with a hard-fought victory at Darlington.

A first goal in senior football for Jaheim Headley was enough for Bradford to claim victory in a brilliantly battled backs-to-the-wall win in which Darlington hit the post three times – including with a penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Goalkeeper Rhys Taylor made a string of fine saves as Bradford claimed their first win of the season, with a second clean sheet in a row.

There were two new faces in the Bradford lineup with Headley starting for Marcus Law’s side, while Brad Dockerty also came into the starting 11.

The game started at a fast pace despite the sweltering heat, Lewis Knight played in behind twice but to no avail, before Stephen Thompson’s header down couldn’t find a teammate at the other end.

Thompson had the game’s first real chance of the game, as his header from a corner dropped just onto the roof of the net with Taylor stranded.

Avenue struggled to properly find any rhythm early on as Mitch Lund was forced off in the second minute with a facial injury, before the referee waved him off again not long after returning, both times refusing to allow him back into the action while the play was ongoing.

The visitors did have a sniff just after Lund was forced to receive treatment for a second time, as Knight’s long throw dropped in the area but neither Jon Moran or central defensive partner Nelson Digbeu could get there.

Dockerty then saw some joy on the right for Bradford, twice getting to the by-line but both times just struggling to find a man with his low cut-backs.

The hosts then had another chance, once more created by Thompson, whose chest down was volleyed well over by Adam Campbell.

Avenue came forward again though and came their closest through Digbeu, who headed Knight’s throw-in towards the bottom corner, only for Chris Elliott to be equal to it with a very good save.

His opposite number, Bradford captain Taylor, then had work to do himself, closing down Will Hadfield’s burst into the area, before he reacted brilliantly to save from Justin Donawa after he found himself in behind and bearing down on goal.

The second half started in a similarly even fashion, with Hadfield’s volley well blocked by Moran in the only chance before Avenue took the lead.

A long ball was well held up by Avenue substitute Joseph Chidyausiku and Isaac Marriott play a brilliant ball through to Headley, who took it in his stride before prodding past Elliott and into the bottom corner.

Moments later, Taylor had to be at his absolute best as a Darlington corner was headed onto the inside of the post and the Bradford goalkeeper acrobatically beat the effort away from goal.

Darlington continued to build pressure but with little in the way of goalmouth action until the 82nd minute, when a long ball found Campbell but his powerful effort was well kept out by the legs of Taylor.

Bradford managed to get themselves up the other end of the pitch, but Hurst’s cross was volleyed over by an offside Myron Gibbons.

As a board signalling six minutes of added time went up, Taylor did well to beat away Rivers’ cross before Hadfield’s effort was charged down by Hurst.

Campbell saw a shot deflected just wide before his 20-yard strike flew past Taylor but thumped back out off the upright.

The goalkeeper then did brilliantly to react and get down as Louis Laing got a prodded effort towards goal which looked to have wrong-footed Taylor.

But then as the clock ticked towards full time, the referee pointed to the spot as a cross dropped and a Darlington man looked to be crowded out, though the decision looked soft.

Up stepped Thompson, but his low effort towards the bottom corner went wide off the outside of the post – with a possible touch from Taylor on its way.

The full time whistle was finally blown to give Avenue their first win of the season in dramatic circumstances after a brilliant team performance which deserves a lot of credit.

Darlington: Elliott, Atkinson, Watson, Bascome (Holness 71), Laing, Galbraith (c, Heaton 32), Rivers, Hatfield, Campbell, Thompson, Donawa (O’Neill 59)

Subs not used: Bell, Wheatley

Booked: Hadfield (70)

Bradford (Park Avenue): Taylor (c), Lund (Chidyausiku 46), Calder, Wood, Moran, Digbeu, Dockerty (Hedley 66), Marriott, Knight (Gibbons 74), Hurst, Headley

Subs not used: Bennett, Orlando-Young

Goal: Headley (60)

Booked: Headley (41), Taylor (64), Hedley (76), Hurst (78), Calder (90+4)

Referee: Dean Hulme

Attendance: 1,491

Next Up: AFC Telford United (H) | Saturday 31st August, 3pm kick-off