BRADFORD (Park Avenue) manager Mark Bower has questioned whether the standard of officiating in National League North is good enough.

Bower was stunned that Brackley Town's second and third goals were allowed in their 3-0 win over Avenue on Saturday, and it was only few weeks ago that he was left apoplectic after red cards for Simon Richman and Ryan Toulson in his side's game against Kettering Town.

He will be hoping that there are no refereeing controversies when his team host rock-bottom Farsley Celtic tonight.

The Avenue boss said: "Refereeing is a very difficult job, and we've actually had some good ones over the last few weeks.

"But I can't get my head around a few of the decisions on Saturday.

"Some of the Brackley lads were even shaking their heads and laughing at full-time, as they couldn't believe what was happening.

"I was about to make a couple of subs, and we could have had one last push at 1-0 down, but instead, two rugby tackles on our keeper (George Sykes-Kenworthy) have led to their second and third goals.

"You can disagree with a decision, then look back and understand the referee's point of view, but some calls, like on Saturday, you're just left scratching your head.

"I think the level of football in National League North has gone up in the last few years, and I'm not sure the standard of refereeing is keeping pace with that."

All of this controversy might have been avoided had Lewis Knight put Avenue 1-0 up with a good chance in the second half.

In spite of that, Bower is pleased with the forward's displays since he returned to the club from Notts County in January.

He said: "Lewis has been playing as a central striker and he's a real threat in behind.

"Maybe not so much against Brackley, who have the best defence in the league, but he puts teams on the back foot and creates space for others.

"OJ (Oli Johnson) has been getting assists and Brad (Dockerty) has been scoring goals, so they have really benefitted from Lewis making that space for them.

"He's not had a lot of football over the last few months, so I think there's more to come from him.

"He's getting fitter and stronger, and he'll be a real asset for us going forward."

Knight will hope to play a starring role against Farsley tonight, who gave their chances of avoiding relegation a boost on Saturday with a superb 2-1 victory over Kidderminster Harriers.

Bower said: "It was a good win for them, their first in a while, but I wasn't surprised.

"Farsley are strong on their own pitch, and they've given other top teams like Fylde, Brackley and Gateshead a problem there this season too.

"Their new manager (Russ Wilcox) has brought more experience into the team, players who know how to get results in this league.

"It's the strongest team they've had in a while, so it probably is a bad time to play them, but they might be thinking the same about us, as we've had some good results lately, at home in particular.

"It should be a decent game."

Sykes-Kenworthy should be fine to play, despite the facial injuries he picked up at Brackley, while Oli Johnson (groin) and Jordan Windass (ill) are both in line for a return to the side.