A DRAMATIC late comeback, including a brace from skipper Shane Killock, spared Bradford (Park Avenue) from a shock home defeat and kept them top of the National League North.

Avenue turned around a two-goal deficit inside 10 minutes as they overcame 19th-placed Ashton United 3-2.

The hosts were 2-0 down in the 83rd minute before Lewis Knight halved the deficit. Just one minute later Killock pounced to net the equaliser and just into stoppage time the big defender lashed in the winner.

Avenue manager Mark Bower said: “I don’t really know what to say about that – we didn’t play well – that’s the first thing.

“We started poorly and gave two really poor goals away so we were really on the back foot. But before the game we’d said that we’d have to be patient and everyone in the ground had to be patient for that finish.

“We haven’t played well in the last two games but we’ve taken four points and they say that only good teams pick up points when they’re not at their best. We have to play better – we know that. We’ve got away with it today but it’s not going to happen too often so we must rediscover the form we were in earlier in the season.”

Park Avenue fell behind in the third minute and they looked nothing like a table-topping side throughout the first half. The Robins’ Bradley Jackson fired a shot from the corner of the area past home keeper Steve Drench to open the scoring.

The visitors were two goals to the good before the 20-minute mark as Liam Martin hit a low shot from just inside the area that Drench got a hand to but the keeper was off-balance and on the turf as he watched the ball roll over the line.

Bower made a change at half-time as he replaced Nicky Wroe with Danny Lowe and switched formations. Lowe slotted in at left back which released Nicky Clee to take up the left-wing role while Jamie Spencer dropped back into centre midfield, where Wroe had started.

The home side were slightly better in the second half but they were tapping on the door rather than knocking on it. That was until Knight rifled a 20-yard shot into the top corner after good work by substitute Alex Hurst.

Avenue forced a corner a minute later and Jake Beesley headed the ball back. Killock needed no further invitation to ram his shot past Robins’ keeper Luke Pilling.

And the visiting keeper must have thought he was suffering from déjà vu just into time added on.

Killock was forward for another set piece and when it was half-cleared, Hurst chased it down and put the ball into the goalmouth for Killock to bury it.

Bower added: “We looked very disjointed at the start but I think that was because it was a different kind of test for us.

“We haven’t played a side in the bottom eight at home so far, it’s been sides like Darlington, Chorley, Kidderminster, and they came to sit back early and play on the counter.

“No one has come here with nothing to lose and just gone all out to attack us from the start so I think we can learn something from it.”