Bradford (Park Avenue) romped to an emphatic 6-0 win over cash-strapped Nuneaton Borough.
The opening ten minutes of the game were frantic as both sides hunted for an early opener.
Enoch Andoh raced to the byline before pulling back to Dior Angus, who could only watch as a deflection diverted his shot away from goal.
After stifling a dangerous-looking Nuneaton attack, Bradford broke swiftly, and Oli Johnson drew an impressive stop from Cam Belford.
Nuneaton’s Andoh then rattled the woodwork after latching on to a loose ball inside the 18-yard box.
Minutes after being denied by Belford himself, Johnson turned provider to tee up Lewis Knight but the Boro stopper produced another save.
Jake Beesley then came close, connecting with Nicky Wroe’s corner delivery but watching as his header looped over the crossbar.
The visitors were eventually rewarded for their pressure when Conor Branson gave them the lead. The midfielder, who is currently in a rich vein of form, was edged wide after rounding Belford but managed to lift the ball into the vacated net from a seemingly impossible angle.
Mark Bower’s side continued to pile pressure on the hosts and Belford did magnificently to tip a long-range piledriver from Jamie Spencer over the crossbar.
Wroe then doubled Bradford’s lead in sensational fashion, shooting from just inside Nuneaton’s half and catching Belford off his line.
The advantage was increased shortly after through Jamie Spencer. After Wroe’s corner delivery was cleared, the ball fell to Spencer and he rifled past Belford.
HALF-TIME: Nuneaton Borough 0-3 Bradford (Park Avenue)
Boro boss Nicky Eaden made a double substitution at the break and for the first ten minutes of the second-half, Nuneaton were on the front foot.
However, the struggling side couldn’t capitalise, and Harry Panayiotou squandered the best opportunity that fell Nuneaton’s way when he fired wide from just outside the box.
Bradford soon regained control of the game and a fourth goal looked inevitable as Nuneaton struggled to cope with their opponents’ attacking threat.
Lewis Knight poked into the path of Beesley but Belford raced out quickly to deny the forward.
Nuneaton were then reduced to ten men after Belford kicked out at Beesley whilst contesting a loose ball. The goalkeeper was given his marching orders and Beesley stepped up to convert the resulting penalty past stand-in stopper Mike Calvely.
The deflated hosts looked even more helpless after Belford was dismissed and soon conceded again.
Debutant Alex Hurst was teed up by Danny Lowe and tucked the ball away in the bottom corner with a neat finish.
He had an opportunity to net his second mere minutes later but couldn’t find the target with a thunderous strike from the left-hand side of the box.
After registering an assist, Lowe was keen to etch his own name on the scoresheet and drew an excellent save from Calvely with a well-struck volley.
Boro were reduced to nine men in the latter stages following an injury to Jack Blackham, allowing Beesley to notch his second and Bradford’s sixth. Adam Nowakowski’s shot was blocked and the ball fell at the feet of the on-loan striker, who steered past Calvely.
FULL-TIME: Nuneaton Borough 0-6 Bradford (Park Avenue)
Nuneaton Borough: Belford (c), Obeng, Davies, Richards, Calvely, Carter (Blackham 61’), Kelly-Evans, Wharton (Panayiotou 45’), McGurk, Angus, Andoh (Baker 45’).
Unused substitutes: Wesolowski, Benjamin.
Bradford (Park Avenue): Drench, Ross, Lowe, Wroe (Hurst 68’), Killock (c), Havern, Spencer, Branson, Beesley, Johnson (Nowakowski 71’), Knight (Clee 68’).
Unused substitutes: Toulson, Atkinson.
Referee: Barry Lamb
