Bradford Park Avenue 0

Stalybridge Celtic 1

Another poor performance at home condemned Avenue to another defeat and to the basement of the Conference North, as Stalybridge leapfrogged their relegation rivals.

It was the worst time to face the Tameside club as they have just installed a new manager in John Reed.

He left high-flying Harrogate Town to join Celtic and was the mastermind behind Harrogate's win in the last match at Horsfall Stadium.

Saturday's victory gave Reed an unusual back-to-back double, and with perfect footballing irony he achieved it with three ex-Avenuites in his squad.

Striker Andy Hayward and keeper Craig Dootson started while Dean Calcutt came off the bench in the second half.

Avenue boss Carl Shutt started himself for the first time and played the whole 90 minutes after failing to secure a replacement for forward Ashley Scothern.

The good news from his exit to Leigh RMI is that the Nationwide Conference club has agreed to pay a fee for the player.

The monetary compensation is scant consolation to Shutt, however.

With his involvement on the pitch, assistant Ian Ruscrow was running the show from the dug-out. "It was below par and what hurts me is that some players at this club are not giving Carl, the backers and the supporters of this club everything they can," said Ruscrow.

"We have a small squad, we don't have the options to change the shape of the side but we do have the right to expect that the ones selected will show commitment above the level they showed in this game."

At least one player can be exempt from any criticism. Towering American Andy Britton had an exceptional day between the sticks, keeping Avenue in the game at times and being beaten only by a spectacular strike.

In the 28th minute Stalybridge skipper Scott Bonsall was in a central position and let fly from all of 30 yards. The ball fizzed in off the top half of the post, giving Britton no chance.

The warnings signs were there for Avenue. In the previous minute Hayward had the ball in the net, only to be ruled offside.

"What frustrated me was that we lost our personal battles in all areas," said Shutt.

"They had more hunger, they wanted it more. There should be no greater motivation for us than knowing the team we are playing will go above us if they win. I'm very disappointed with the efforts of some of my players."