Quakers beaten by first half goal

By Ray Simpson

Quakers beaten by first half goal

Barren FA Cup run continues

 

Darlington 0 Bradford Park Avenue 1

Scorers:  (Lowe, 24 mins, 0-1)

Attendance 1037

Quakers went out of the FA cup at the first hurdle, beaten by a first half goal.

The second half was much better than the first, and more chances were created by the home side, but not enough to threaten the Bradford PA keeper.

Sadly, Quakers haven't now won an FA cup tie for four seasons.

 

Quakers had a half chance in the first minute when Stephen Thompson crossed from the right and the ball was cleared as far as Reece Styche, whose low shot was blocked.

Bradford then forced two corners, which Quakers dealt with comfortably.

Quakers burst into life when Liam Hughes collected a backward pass from Henshall on the halfway line, charged forward and hit a low shot that Atkinson saved low down to his right.

Then in Quakers next attack on 12 minutes, Thompson turned quickly on the edge of the box and struck a low shot that Atkinson saved at the foot of his post.

Bradford replied with a cross from the right that Beesley headed just over the top, then Wroe tried his luck from 35 yards out and the ball just dropped wide of the post.

Maddison got everything behind a low free kick from Ben McKenna on 23 minutes.

Bradford took the lead on 24 minutes. Danny Lowe picked up a stray crossfield pass just inside the Darlo half, ran forward, and fired left footed past Maddison from the edge of the box.

Quakers replied with a good run by Thompson, who fired across the face of goal.

Liam Hughes tried to respond for Quakers with a shot on the turn from a right wing corner, but it was deflected over.

Half time Darlington 0 Bradford Park Avenue 1

Quakers made a sub at half time, David Syers coming on for Henshall.

Quakers had a chance at the start of the second half, when Nicholson crossed from the left for Hughes to put a looping header just over the bar.

Syers nearly levelled when a shot by Nicholson came out to him just outside of the area, and he hit a low shot that the keeper tipped around the post, and from the corner that followed, Hughes had a header blocked on the line.

But BPA responded with a run through the middle by Beesley, who held off Galbraith, but Maddison reacted well to save at the striker’s feet.

Syers had another chance on the hour, a glancing header from a Galbraith free kick that the keeper saved on the line.

Ainge then had another header saved from a Galbraith free kick, then Thompson curled one just wide

Ainge had a shot charged down as Quakers turned up the pressure, and then headed wide from a Nicholson cross.

Harvey Saunders came on as sub, and he was involved in the move that saw Syers have a shot blocked from ten yards out.

Thompson put a shot from the edge of the box over the bar, and in the last minute, Saunders headed just wide.

Final score: Darlington 0 Bradford PA 1

 

Maddison, Trotman, Hughes, Galbraith, O’Hanlon; Elliott, Henshall (sub Syers 46), Nicholson (sub Saunders 80), Styche, Ainge, Thompson

Subs: Glover, Aaron Burn, Lycett, Alderson, Stansfield     

 

Bradford Park Avenue

Atkinson, Ross, Lowe, Wroe, Killock, Havern, McKenna (sub Toulson 80), Branson, Beesley, Dawson (sub Spencer 69), Clee (sub Johnson 64)

Subs: Toulson, Knight, Nowakowski