DECEMBER 23, 1972.

The Bantams obliterated Darlington 7-0 in Division Four that day, and in the 48 long years since, they have not been able to match or better that result.

Until now.

City romped to an extraordinary 7-0 win in the FA Cup First Round at Tonbridge Angels yesterday, as six different players found themselves on the scoresheet.

A Billy Clarke double and an Anthony O’Connor header put them 3-0 up at the break, before second half goals from Clayton Donaldson, Austin Samuels, Harry Pritchard and Connor Wood set the seal on an emphatic victory.

The Bantams took the lead after just six minutes.

A corner was taken quickly back to Wood. He set himself before playing a delicious ball in to O’Connor, who guided a powerful downward header past Jon Henly in the Tonbridge goal.

Elliot Watt played two great balls over the top for Pritchard either side of the opener.

The 28-year-old just failed to connect with the first one, and second time around, his looping header landed on the top of, rather than in, the net.

But that miss did not prove costly, with Clarke soon doubling City’s lead.

He was fouled on the edge of the box by Tonbridge midfielder Tom Parkinson, before getting up and whipping a stunning left-footed free-kick into the net.

The ball was always bending away from Henly, who had no chance as soon the ball had left Clarke’s foot.

Reece Staunton nearly got in on the act with a sensational individual goal. He slalomed away from two or three players but just found himself off balance as he got a sight of goal.

He shot anyway but it dribbled tamely into Henly’s hands.

Clayton Donaldson then had a couple of good chances to increase City’s lead.

First, Callum Cooke played a pass through and it came to Pritchard down the inside left channel.

He held it up, before firing a low cross in towards Donaldson, who just failed to get a touch to turn it home.

Then, Staunton’s fine ball in was headed powerfully towards goal by Donaldson, but straight at Henly, who gathered comfortably.

Either side of the Tonbridge stopper and it surely would have been 3-0.

Pritchard thought he had put Bryce Hosannah through on goal, but a stunning last ditch tackle stopped the wing-back from shooting.

With nothing going their way, the hosts changed shape slightly after about half an hour, and it was in the last 15 minutes of the first half that they really threatened City.

Full-back Jack Parter cut inside from the right flank and curled in a shot at goal with his favoured left foot.

He caught it well but it whistled a few inches over the bar.

The Angels’ best chance of the game came from a City free-kick. Donaldson won himself a cheap foul on halfway, but the ball was soon given away to home winger Joe Turner.

He played the ball through and suddenly Tonbridge striker Alex Akrofi was in behind.

He hammered a shot across Richard O’Donnell but it zipped just wide of the far post.

That miss was severely punished moments later, as City grabbed a crucial third before half-time.

Donaldson won another soft free kick, but this time City ended up working it wide to Wood.

He swung a fine ball in and Clarke guided a header past the stationary Henly to make it 3-0.

Pritchard missed a gilt-edged chance to make it 4-0 just after the break. Clarke played in Hosannah and he cut it back to Pritchard.

He should have buried the chance from close range, but his soft effort allowed Henly to dive and make the save.

Former Inter Milan winger Ben Greenhalgh then played in Tommy Wood for Tonbridge and his curling effort was well saved by O’Donnell.

It was soon 4-0 though. Brilliant interplay from Cooke and Hosannah saw the former find himself with space in the box.

He fired the ball low across goal and Donaldson couldn’t miss from six yards out.

The Angels fashioned a half-chance when Akrofi skipped through and the ball broke for Turner, but his bobbling shot from the edge of the box was gathered comfortably by O’Donnell.

Staunton then marauded his way through and tried to square the ball for Clarke, on a hat-trick, but it was blocked out for a corner.

Austin Samuels and Tyler French came on for Donaldson and Hosannah and, after Cooke was yellow carded for a cynical foul on Turner, the new pair made a quick impact.

Good work between the two of them saw the ball worked back for Cooke, who skipped past a challenge and saw his low shot strike the post, then the back of Henly’s head, and go out for a corner.

That set-piece was cleared back to Watt, who played in Clarke.

He slammed a low ball into the box and Paudie O’Connor’s effort clipped the crossbar on its way over.

A deep Tonbridge corner left O’Donnell scrambling and he was saved by a defender heading the ball off the line from Kristian Campbell’s effort.

Just moments later, it was 5-0, when a counter attack from the Bantams saw Cooke feed the ball through to Samuels, who raced on to it and slid the ball home for his first City goal.

Samuels then played in Clarke, who tried to chip the keeper for his hat-trick, but he didn’t catch it right, and Henly was able to pluck the ball out of the air.

Clarke came off as a precaution after a superb performance, with Dylan Mottley-Henry on to replace him for the final 15 minutes.

With seven minutes to go, the Bantams made it 6-0. The ball was fired across goal by Samuels and Henly made a great save to deny French.

But the ball came back to Samuels, who slid the ball across for Pritchard to squeeze it home.

Late on, D’Sean Theobalds came close with a shot for Tonbridge before Samuels took the ball around the keeper. But he just failed to control it and make it seven.

Mottley-Henry was denied by the legs of Henly with three minutes left, but City did add a seventh in injury-time.

Samuels did well to win the ball and he played it in behind to Wood.

He cut the ball back to the edge of the box, where Cooke saw his shot blocked.

It broke to the back post and Mottley-Henry knocked the ball back across to Wood, who fired gleefully into the roof of the net from close-range.

An emphatic win then, with 10 goals scored and none conceded in the past week against Southend and Tonbridge.

Crisis? What crisis?