Bradford Park Avenue 3, Stalybridge Celtic 1

BRADFORD Park Avenue stretched their unbeaten Vanarama National League North run to five games and moved to within a point of visitors Stalybridge Celtic after a determined display.

They wore a battling Stalybridge side down after a goalless first half to run out deserved winners.

From the minute Craig King finally broke the deadlock, there was only one club going to bank all the points.

Avenue boss Martin Drury was left purring and said: "I'm probably the happiest I've been all season after that display. It was a team performance and everyone has contributed.

"We've had to be patient but we have stuck to our game-plan, stuck to our principles in very difficult conditions and earned a good win.

"I had a word with them at half-time about missed chances but they knew that themselves.

"I thought we were getting into good areas but the final ball was letting us down and some chances went begging because of that.

"I wasn't telling them anything they didn't know and in the second half they started to find that bit of quality they have got and I thought we could have had more goals."

Avenue could have been a couple up in quick time after a bright opening.

Celts centre back Jack Higgins hooked the ball off the line to deny Jason St Juste before the winger danced round a couple of defenders after taking Richard Marshall's short corner but his cross was poor.

King headed just over and minutes later sent in a low shot to the near post but Stalybridge keeper Tony McMillan was well placed.

King rampaged down the right flank again soon after but his low cross was deflected just behind Chib Chilaka in the six-yard box and the visitors escaped again.

McMillan saved a Paul Marshall free-kick with ease but was at full stretch to palm away St Juste's 35th-minute diagonal shot.

Chilaka was denied by McMillan's quick reactions early in the second half but the Celts keeper was finally beaten in the 51st minute when King netted at the second attempt after a defender had slid in to block his first shot.

King rattled the bar with a fierce shot from the corner of the area just two minutes later and the under-pressure visiting defence picked up three yellow cards for fouls that stopped Avenue attacks.

Richard Marshall then put Avenue 2-0 ahead in the 65th minute, flicking home St Juste's whipped cross at the near post, but the Celts stunned the home side with a goal out of nothing 11 minutes from time.

Higgins looped a header over home keeper Jon Stewart – but that just made Avenue more determined to underline their superiority.

They did that in the penultimate minute when St Juste found Chilaka and he made room for a shot before slotting in low.