Vanarama National League North: Bradford Park Avenue 0 Boston United 2

A SECOND consecutive league defeat dented Bradford Park Avenue's Vanarama National League North survival hopes but it was the controversial circumstances in their loss at home to Boston United that left manager Mark Bower frustrated.

He had seen his side match their 14th-placed visitors in the first half but turn around a goal down.

The home side were on top after the break and had a strong penalty appeal turned down, only to concede a second to a breakaway.

The Avenue boss was annoyed by what he felt were errors by the referee in awarding the Pilgrims a free-kick that led to the opener and his dismissal of the penalty appeal.

Bower said: “Once again we’re left questioning the performance of the match official and it shouldn’t be that way.

“We were in the game throughout but I think the decisions of the ref have absolutely killed us. There were two that really affected the game and they were diabolical.

“Danny Boshell has a huge bruise on his shin where he was kicked on the follow through by the player he had just beaten in a tackle, but the free-kick for that went to them and it led to the goal.

“We should have done better at the free-kick, we should have reacted quicker when Spider (keeper Jon Worsnop) parried it, but it shouldn’t have been given.

"The penalty is another one that I can’t see his reasoning.

“The foul on Reece Webb-Foster was clear – their keeper just took him out. If that’s given and we score then I think we would have gone on to win it because the momentum was with us at the time.

“A few minutes after that they score against the run of play, and I think that goal summed up our luck at the moment.

"We got a good challenge in but the ball spins and turned into a great pass to the lad on the left wing.

“He fires a shot and again we get a block on that, only for the ball to hit the ground and loop over Spider and into the far corner.

"That deflection could have taken it over the bar, into the keeper’s arms, anywhere, but it goes in – we’re getting no luck at all.”

The sides had gone toe to toe and cancelled each other out in the first half but the Pilgrims grabbed the lead soon after the half-hour.

Boston striker Richard Brodie, who had picked up a yellow card nine minutes earlier for persistent offending, went down under the challenge from Boshell.

Worsnop parried Brodie’s free-kick but Jay Rollins was the first to react and volleyed the loose ball home.

The final nail in the coffin was hammered home by Boston’s right back Kalern Thomas, who popped up on the left wing to beat Worsnop with his deflected effort.

The damage to Avenue’s hopes of beating the drop was minimised as Boston’s Lincolnshire neighbours Gainsborough Trinity and Stalybridge Celtic, the clubs immediately above and below Avenue in the table, drew 2-2.