Bradford (Park Avenue) suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to promotion rivals North Ferriby on Friday night, marking their second consecutive league loss and a frustrating blow to their play-off ambitions. The defeat leaves Avenue eighth in the Northern Premier League East Division, four points adrift of the play-off places as the Christmas period approaches.
The evening began on a disappointing note for Avenue, as right-back Kareem Hassan-Smith was forced off with an injury after just ten minutes, with Keenan Ferguson coming on to replace him. Despite the early setback, Bradford managed to carve out the first real chance of the game midway through the first half. A well-worked spell of possession ended with a thunderous effort that struck the woodwork, leaving the visitors agonizingly close to taking the lead. Minutes later, Bradford won a free kick in a dangerous position, but North Ferriby’s goalkeeper Ben Bottomley produced an excellent save to keep the scores level.
North Ferriby responded almost immediately, with Kieron Ceesay narrowly missing a floated ball into the box, but the forward would not be denied for long. In the 27th minute, Ceesay collected the ball in space and rifled it past Avenue’s goalkeeper Jack Hall to put the home side in front. Bradford pushed for an equalizer before the break, but Bottomley remained resolute, making another vital save to ensure his side went into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
The second half saw Avenue continue to press for a way back into the game. A brilliant ball across the face of the goal early on somehow evaded everyone in the box, while Bottomley was once again called into action to thwart a dangerous Avenue attack. North Ferriby came close to doubling their lead on several occasions, with one effort flying just wide and another forcing a smart save from Hall.
Bradford had their chances to level the game, with Paddy Sykes heading narrowly wide just after the hour mark and a late effort from six yards out sailing over the bar in what was arguably their best opportunity of the match. Despite a determined final push, Avenue could not find a way past Bottomley, who delivered a man-of-the-match performance to preserve North Ferriby’s slim advantage.
The hosts nearly sealed the win in the closing stages, with Ceesay almost doubling his tally on the counter-attack, only for a last-ditch clearance to deny him. However, North Ferriby did not need the second goal, as Ceesay’s first-half strike proved decisive. The win lifted North Ferriby into the play-off places, while Bradford will be left to reflect on missed chances and a growing gap to the top five.
Avenue will look to bounce back on Boxing Day when they return to Horsfall Community Stadium to face Yorkshire rivals Pontefract Collieries, who currently sit in 15th place.