A clinical Stockport County reduced the gap between themselves and second-placed Bradford (Park Avenue) in the table to a solitary point with a convincing 3-0 victory at Edgeley Park.

The hosts made a dream start, firing themselves into the lead after just five minutes. Matty Warburton found space on the edge of the box before unleashing a left-footed strike that found the bottom corner.

Bursting with confidence, the Hatters showed no reluctance to pile bodies forward and threatened to double their lead on numerous occasions in the early stages.

Jack Atkinson had to be alert to prevent Warburton notching his second, diving to hold on to a powerful drive from the Stockport forward.

The young stopper was then relieved to see Darren Stephenson’s speculative strike find the wrong side of the woodwork after the winger skipped past Ryan Toulson.

Former Bradford loanee Frank Mulhern also came close to etching his name on the scoresheet, diving to meet Scott Duxbury’s delivery but heading wide.

The visitors began to recover from the early blow as the half progressed and carved open some opportunites of their own.

Nicky Clee’s drilled effort flew past the post after the midfielder was teed up by Oli Johnson and Conor Branson saw a glancing header held on to by Ben Hinchliffe.

The hosts, however, continued to threaten and Adam Thomas was unlucky to see his close-range header palmed away from danger in impressive fashion by Atkinson.

In a frantic end to the first-half, both sides went for the jugular. Hinchliffe pushed Nicky Wroe’s effort wide after Jake Beesley’s shot was blocked by Ashley Palmer.

Stockport winger Adam Thomas then tucked the ball away in the bottom corner, but the goal was ruled out when the linesman penalised Mulhern for straying offside.

Former Hatters defender Mark Ross came close to netting against his former employers in the late stages, seeing his powerful header plucked out of the bottom corner by Hinchliffe.

HALF-TIME: Stockport County 1-0 Bradford (Park Avenue)

Atkinson was thrust into action immediately after the restart, being forced to make impressive stops to deny Warburton and Stephenson in quick succession.

The resulting corner was delivered by Duxbury and found Palmer, who headed wide after escaping his marker.

Bradford found themselves camped in their own half but launched a swift counter-attack when Lewis Knight burst down the right flank. Stephenson, however, managed to shepherd the forward wide, forcing his shot to come from a tight angle and making the save a routine one for Hinchliffe.

The hosts eventually doubled their lead when Stephenson’s low shot from just inside the 18-yard box nestled in the bottom corner, despite Atkinson getting a fingertip to the ball.

Six minutes later, the Hatters added to their advantage in bizarre circumstances. Mulhern emerged from behind Atkinson as he prepared to punt forward, stole possession and tucked away in a vacated net.

The lead was almost further extended almost immediately after the third goal when Warburton’s long-range strike left the crossbar shaking.

The visitors failed to mount a comeback as Stockport retained their control of what evolved into a one-sided affair.

Jim Gannon’s side even enjoyed more opportunites in the late stages and Nicky Wroe had to lunge to block Sam Minihan’s powerful drive.

Wroe did catch a glimpse of goal himself in stoppage time but his speculative strike lacked the power required to trouble Hinchliffe, who held.

With the full-time whistle set to blow, Dimaio’s swerving effort whistled past the post, to the relief of a diving Atkinson.

FULL-TIME: Stockport County 3-0 Bradford (Park Avenue)

Stockport County: Hinchliffe, Minihan, Duxbury, Keane, Palmer, Stott, Thomas, Turnbull (c) (Osborne 71’), Mulhern (Bell 79’), Warburton (Dimaio 81’) Stephenson.
Unused substitutes: Cowan, Ormson.
Bradford (Park Avenue): Atkinson, Toulson, Lowe, Hurst (Nowakowski 64’), Killock (c), Ross, Knight, Branson, Beesley, Johnson (McKenna 45’), Clee (Wroe 30’).
Unused substitutes: Drench, Spencer.
Referee: John Matthews
Attendance: 4,105 (136 away)

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