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FC United suffer defeat at Bradford Park Avenue

FC United suffered a third straight defeat in the Vanarama National League North on Wednesday night, losing 3-1 at Bradford Park Avenue.

The Reds got off to a great start at the Horsfall Stadium as George Thomson gave Karl Marginson’s side a fifth-minute lead. However, the West Yorkshire hosts drew level eight minutes later through Nathan Turner. Lamin Colley put Bradford ahead in the 67th minute and Avenue sealed victory with 14 minutes to go through Billy Priestley.

Both teams started quickly. Avenue having a couple of chances with Callum Chippendale firing wide and the dangerous Chib Chilaka crossing wide of the far post.

On five minutes, FC United took the lead when a mix up in the home defence allowed Thomson in to slot past Jon Stewart. At that point, the Reds were in the ascendancy and should have extended their lead.

A sublime cross from Thomson was met by the head of Scott Kay but he headed wide when he should have at least hit the target. A minute later, Tom Greaves was played in and rounded Stewart. He shot from a tight angle but saw the ball come back off the post.

The home side equalised on 13 minutes when Chilaka ran into the box and crossed to Turner who fired into the bottom corner of the FC net. From this point it was BPA who saw the most of the ball.

Craig King on the right wing was looking dangerous and was playing many crosses into the FC box. Just before the half hour BPA were looking for a penalty when Chilaka was tripped but the official turned down his appeal.

The second half started in the same vein, Chris Chantler kicking the ball off his own line. Colley was becoming an influence for Avenue and he found himself one-on-one with Dylan Forth, the FC United keeper blocking the shot.

It was no surprise that BPA took the lead when a cross from the right was headed in by Colley at the far post. On 76 minutes the lead was extended when a free-kick wasn’t defended by the FC United backline and Priestley put the ball into the goal. The end of the game was played out with Bradford happy to let FC United have the ball but there was no chance of a comeback from the Reds.

Website man of the match - Harry Winter. No real standout performances but for keeping going, never giving up and covering most of the pitch during the game, Winter takes the award.

Report by Steven Wood


First Posted ~ 11:19 Thu 18 Feb 2016
News ID ~ 6678
Last Updated ~ 00:47 Tue 16 Feb 2021