MARK Bower expressed his delight after Bradford (Park Avenue) bounced back in style to beat AFC Telford and go three points clear at the top of National League North.

His side were on the end of a 4-0 hammering at Altrincham in the FA Trophy last week but they delivered the perfect response with a 2-0 victory at their third-placed hosts.

He said: "It's a fantastic win as they haven't lost there all season and it's such a tough place to come.

"I'm absolutely delighted with the win. We played well. In the first half we were the better team and had by far and away the better chances.

"We didn't start the second half that well but we knew the way they press we could pick them off."

Second-half goals from Lewis Knight and Jamie Spencer did the job for Avenue, who remained resilient in defence against difficult opponents.

Bower said: "We felt really comfortable. Telford are a very direct side, they put it on you and there is no messing about. We stood up to that really well.

"I can't remember them having real chances of any note.

"We did what we had to do and it was a classic away performance in the second half where we soaked up the pressure and caught them on the break.

"They didn't ask us too many questions. We knew what to expect but knowing it's coming and dealing with it are two different things."

Bower admitted he had considered changing formation to deal with Telford's challenge but opted against it.

He said: "As a sign of respect to Telford we worked on playing with a back five on Tuesday night and considered going with that.

"But we are top of the league, we've got the most points, won the most games and scored the most goals so we decided not to change."

Avenue's squad showed their strength when captain Shane Killock was injured in the warm-up as Mark Ross came in and did well at centre half.

Bower said: "We lost Shane Killock in the warm-up and Conor Branson was suspended. They are two of our stand-out performers this season so for the lads to put on that performance shows the strength we have got.

"(Mark) Ross stepping across to centre half was superb for us and Luca (Havern) won everything in the air."