The hosts were the first to threaten as winger Matt Lowe came close to notching an early opener.

He was teed up by Lee Ndlovu and advanced into the box at an alarming speed, but saw his shot blocked by a sliding Shane Killock.

Brackley’s Omari Sterling-James then embarked on a mazy run down the left before cutting in and drawing an impressive stop from Steven Drench with a curling effort.

Drench was called into action again when the resulting corner delivery landed at the feet of Oran Jackson, who stung the goalkeeper’s palms with a close-range strike.

The Saints were eventually rewarded for their pressure when veteran midfielder Carl Baker broke the deadlock. Brackley’s latest signing rifled into top corner from around 25-yards out, rendering a diving Drench helpless.

After taking the lead, Brackley continued to cause Bradford problems and Drench was forced to palm Lowe’s shot wide after the winger advanced unchallenged.

As the second-half entered its latter stages, Bradford sought to mount a comeback and demonstrated a quicker tempo in the final third. Oli Johnson lifted into the box from the left, but Jake Beesley failed to connect cleanly with the ball under pressure from Jackson and headed wide.

Gianluca Havern connected with Lewis Knight’s corner delivery with just a minute of the first-half remaining, but his powerful header found the wrong side of the post.

Saints skipper Gareth Dean then thwarted Beesley, making a last-ditch tackle that prevented Bradford’s marksman going one-on-one with Danny Lewis.

HALF-TIME: Brackley Town 1-0 Bradford (Park Avenue)

Lowe had proven to be a thorn in Bradford’s side throughout the first-half and his direct running created an opportunity within two minutes of the second-half beginning. He accelerated down the right flank before rolling the ball into the path of Baker, who saw his shot blocked by Havern.

James Armson then tried his luck from 20-yards but his tame effort was held comfortably by Drench.

Drench, however, was powerless to prevent Ndlovu’s header nestling in the back of the net after the forward met Shane Byrne’s cross.

Bradford embarked on a hunt for an opening as they attempted to claw their way back into the game, but both Jamie Spencer and Knight saw efforts blocked in the 18-yard box.

The hosts continued to pose an attacking threat despite their relatively comfortable lead and Lowe was denied by Drench after darting into the box from the right flank.

Brackley’s lead was eventually extended through Baker, who fired into the top corner from close-range after the ball was delivered to him on a plate by Lowe.

The visitors failed to produce a response in the final ten minutes as Brackley held strong and nullified the attacking threat in Bradford’s frontline.

FULL-TIME: Brackley Town 3-0 Bradford (Park Avenue)

Brackley Town: Lewis, Myles, G. Walker, Byrne, Jackson, Dean (c), Lowe, Armson (A. Walker 78’), Ndlovu (Nti 88’), Baker, Sterling-James (Fairlamb 68’).

Unused substitutes: Jeffers.

Bradford (Park Avenue): Drench, Ross, Lowe, Spencer, Killock (c) (Nowakowski 72’), Havern, Knight, Branson, Beesley, Johnson (Hurst 52’), Clee (East 78’).

Unused substitutes: Atkinson, Dawson.

Referee: Matt Russell

Attendance: 487

Bradford (Park Avenue) picked up their first point of the calendar year against high-flying Blyth Spartans.

The hosts started brightly, putting Blyth on the back foot and testing stopper Peter Jameson on numerous occasions in the early stages.

Oli Johnson was denied by the goalkeeper after latching on to a through ball from Jamie Spencer and Jake Beesley saw a low shot held by Blyth’s number one.

Alun Armstrong’s side settled after a nervy start, but Bradford remained in control, spraying the ball around with conviction and confidence.

The hosts were, however, given a scare when Robbie Dale’s curling effort clipped the crossbar after the veteran winger cut in from the right and pulled the trigger.

Despite struggling to gain a foothold in the opening exchanges, Blyth took the lead as the half-hour mark approached. Michael Liddle swung in a delivery from the left that was met by the head of Sean Reid, who powered a header past Steven Drench.
Bradford immediately embarked on a hunt for an equaliser and demonstrated their ability to carve Blyth open in the late stages of the second-half.

Spencer’s volley was lifted just inches above the crossbar after the ball fell kindly to him on the edge of the box, minutes before Jameson palmed Johnson’s curling effort wide at full stretch.

The Spartans did pose a greater attacking threat after taking the lead and went close through Daniel Maguire, whose cross almost found the bottom corner.

HALF-TIME: Bradford (Park Avenue) 0-1 Blyth Spartans

The early stages of the second-half yielded little in the way of entertainment but Danny Lowe did make a superb last-ditch tackle to prevent Dale going one-one-one with Drench.

Nicky Clee was the first player to catch a glimpse of goal after the break, but his speculative effort failed to find the target.
The palms of Drench were then stung by Maguire, but the goalkeeper collected after initially parrying the strike.

A corner delivery from Nicky Wroe was only cleared as far as Knight and the Bradford man struck, but a deflection diverted the effort away from danger.

As the hosts went for the jugular, Branson charged out of defence before unleashing a powerful strike that Jameson pushed wide in impressive fashion.

Barely a minute later, Branson put Bradford back on level terms when he was teed up by Mark Ross and saw his deflected header fly past Jameson.

With six minutes remaining on the clock, Blyth substitute Jarrett Rivers received his marching orders for a horrific foul on Spencer.

Deep into stoppage time, Blyth were awarded a penalty when the referee penalised Branson for a push on Maguire. Spartans stalwart Dale stepped up but was denied by Drench’s heroic save.

FULL-TIME: Bradford (Park Avenue) 1-1 Blyth Spartans

Bradford (Park Avenue): Drench, Ross, Lowe, Wroe (Nowakowski 71’), Killock (c), Spencer, Knight, Branson, Beesley, Johnson (Hurst 71’), Clee.

Unused Substitutes: Toulson, Atkinson, Dawson.

Blyth Spartans: Jameson, Nicholson, Liddle, Green (Laing 87’), Buddle, Watson, Holmes (Rivers 71’), Oliver, Maguire, Reid, Dale (c).

Unused substitutes: Fewster, Mullen, Wrightson.

Referee: Barry Lamb

Attendance: 373

Bradford (Park Avenue) were condemned to their third consecutive defeat after an old rivalry was renewed against F.C United of Manchester.

The first opportunity of the game fell to the visitors, who almost capitalised on what could have been a costly error from Ben McKenna. The midfielder gifted possession away to Stephen O’Halloran on the edge of the box, who unleashed a thunderous strike that whistled past the post.

Five minutes later, Elliott Simoes squandered a golden opportunity himself, skewing wide after being teed up by Joshua Wallen.
The Reds continued to knock on the door and Wallen had an opportunity himself after providing one for Simoes. The ball fell kindly for the midfielder on the edge of the box, but his low drive found the wrong side of the post.

After a brief spell camped inside their own half, Bradford began to demonstrate the threat they possess going forward. Lewis Knight drifted into space on the right-hand side of the box and left the woodwork shaking with a well-struck effort.
The difficult conditions stifled the frontlines of the two sides as the strikers were given little in the way of service. Through balls and crosses hung in the air or stuck in the mud of the pitch.

When the hosts did advance into the opposition’s box, they failed to keep their composure and Conor Branson lifted over the crossbar from the left-hand side of the box after Lloyd Allinson held Jake Beesley’s header.

A player renowned for the clinical nature of his finishing, Oli Johnson, did eventually break the deadlock with a low strike that rolled through a sea of bodies and nestled in the bottom corner.

However, former Bradford forward Chris Sharp etched his name on the scoresheet to put F.C United back on level terms. On the stroke of half-time, he cut in from the left and rifled into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

HALF-TIME: Bradford (Park Avenue) 1-1 F.C United of Manchester

Kurt Willoughby called Drench into action immediately after the restart, drawing a save with a low drive on the turn.

Drench’s opposite number, Allinson, then had to be alert to deny Branson with a fantastic save.

The Reds’ goalkeeper then breathed a sigh of relief when Knight’s swerving effort found the wrong side of the post.

Two goals in quick succession put F.C United ahead shortly after the hour mark. Jack Banister found the top corner in sensational fashion, just two minutes before Willoughby fired into the bottom corner after a mazy run down the left flank.

The visitors weren’t allowed to cruise until the final whistle as Bradford piled pressure on the leaders. They were eventually rewarded for their pressure when Knight found the top corner with a stunning free-kick, ensuring that the late stages would be nervy for Neil Reynolds’ side.

Ryan Toulson delivered for Beesley as the final whistled approached, but the forward fired high and wide under pressure from Zehn Mohammed.

Substitute Adam Nowakowski came close in the first minute of stoppage time, but his powerful strike was beaten away by Allinson.
A late corner was only cleared as far as Nicky Wroe on the edge of the box and the midfielder was visibly frustrated when his deflected effort struck the crossbar.

FULL-TIME: Bradford (Park Avenue) 2-3 F.C United of Manchester

Bradford (Park Avenue): Drench, Toulson (Nowakowski 71’), Lowe, Wroe, Killock (c), Ross, Knight, Branson, Beesley, Johnson, McKenna (Hurst 69’).
Unused substitutes: Atkinson, Dawson.

F.C United of Manchester: Allinson, Morton, O’Halloran, Mohammed, Sass-Dabies, Wallen, Simoes (Potts 83’), Winter (c), Willoughby, Sharp (Crawford 90+5’), Banister (Brierley 90+2’).
Unused substitutes: Senior, Palinkas.

Referee: Andrew Kitchen
Attendance: 713