Match Report

Former FC United favourite Rory Patterson came back to haunt the Reds as Bradford Park Avenue’s summer signing scored both goals in a comprehensive 2-0 victory at the Horsfall Stadium.

An early screamer and a supremely taken second half goal from ‘The Man Formerly Known As The Man With No Name’ gave the home side all three points and take them into the top three of the UniBond Premier Division.

And to cap off a miserable Monday night against West Yorkshire’s money men, the Reds also had Chris Baguley sent off as the match reached an ill tempered finale.

Yet things had started off brightly for the Reds with Carlos Roca and Kyle Wilson carving out half-chances after good work down the right hand channels.

But it was Bradford who took the lead with a quarter of an hour gone. A short tap from a free-kick just outside the area allowed Patterson to pull the trigger and hit a thunderous shot into Ashton’s bottom right corner.

With another former United favourite Stuart Rudd working well alongside the impressive Chris Hall the Bradford frontline always had options and stretched the Reds defence throughout.

At the other end Wilson looked an increasingly lonely figure up front and a long range Chris Baguley free-kick was as close as the Reds came to an equalizer. United were fortunate not to go into the break two down after the linesman ruled out a rare Patterson header.

The game could have turned back in the Reds favour as early as the first minute of the second half though. Facing away from goal, Wilson was upended on the edge of the box but the striker’s very vocal protests for a penalty went unheard.

Dogged defending from David Chadwick continually kept the Reds in the game but there was little that ‘captain marvel’ could do to stop Bradford’s second goal. A clear break saw Patterson one-on-one with Ashton and the keeper could only watch on helplessly as the Irishman curled his finish into the corner.

Margy’s string of substitutions failed to ignite the Reds’ challenge and as tempers frayed the match descended into farce in the final minutes.

Following a scuffle in the middle of the park the referee made a complete meal of trying to clear up the mess. In the end Chris Baguley proved to be the unlucky scapegoat and the FC United faithful could only look on perplexed as he received his marching orders.

Report by Mark Swanwick