Ashington fall to heavy 4-1 defeat against high-flying Bradford Park Avenue

Ashington came back down to earth with an almighty bump as high-flying Bradford Park Avenue turned on the style at the Horsfall Stadium in a 4-1 triumph over the weekend.

After being ecstatic - and rightly so - following their own superb 4-1 win over Lincoln United in midweek, the Colliers barely laid a glove on Saturday’s opponents, who cruised to victory and subsequently went back to the top of the NPL East.

Bradford manager Craig Elliott had watched the Wansbeck outfit destroy Lincoln, and the hosts’ boss obviously did his homework on the visitors as his side applied wave after wave of pressure from the first whistle, with Ashington struggling to get out of their own half.

Unusually, there were five goals disallowed over the course of the afternoon - four for Bradford - with the first coming after only 70 seconds when Robbie Fox was flagged offside.

The contest would prove to be a tough slog for Marc Ellison’s side, and consequently it came as no surprise when The Green Army went in front in the 17th minute. Jake Thompson cut inside from the left and drove a low right-footed effort beyond Matty Alexander and inside the far post.

Paddy Almond produced a great tackle in the area to thwart Fox not long after, but the hosts will not score an easier goal this season than the one which saw them double their advantage just past the halfway mark. Bradford won a corner on the left, and when Thompson floated the ball over, the unmarked Scott Duxbury glanced in at the near post.

Outclassed in all departments, the uphill struggle became even greater in the 40th minute when Ashington lost possession in their own penalty area and were punished to the full. Luke Parkin unselfishly squared the ball to Ben Andreucci, who hammered home for 3-0, and minutes later, it could have been worse after a shot by Thompson came back off the base of the post.

The Colliers did show signs of improvement after the break and pulled one back in the 71st minute, with a clever flick from Noah Cunningham after a cross by Oliver Thompson.

Alexander then denied substitute Louis Chorlton, and Dan Groves cleared a shot from the rebound off the line, but to complete a miserable day for the Colliers, Thompson scored his second in the 90th minute with a shot from the edge of the area. Chorlton then missed a sitter which would have made it five in the dying seconds.