Avenue 0, Worksop Town 1: A 13th-minute penalty proved unlucky for Avenue as visitors Worksop Town netted the goal that separated the sides from the spot and bagged all three points from a dour game.

It was supposed to be a contest between two of the bigger teams in the UniBond Premier, both with ambitions of being in the shake-up for the proposed Conference North.

Far from living up to that billing, it turned out to be a hard slog of few chances, or indeed, any sign of invention. It was sterile and passionless and though players from both sides showed commitment they provided little entertainment.

Avenue had Andy Hayward missing from their front line and James Stansfield from the heart of defence. Hayward was unavailable while the latter failed to respond to treatment on an injury he picked up in Saturday's 6-2 defeat at Vauxhall.

Former Bantam Graham Mitchell gave away the early penalty with a clumsy challenge on Gary Townsend. Simeon Bambrook stepped forward to net the kick but Avenue keeper Matt Boswell did get a full hand on the ball.

The only Avenue shot on target in the first half came from Danny Walsh in the 23rd minute. But even that summed up the game as it hit an Avenue man and his marker from the Worksop defence as they lay in a tangle on the edge of the six-yard box.

Avenue's depleted squad was stretched to breaking point when skipper Wayne Benn, filling in at centre back in the absence of Stansfield and Ryan Crossley, injured himself in stoppage time before the break.

He did not restart the game after the interval and a re-structuring had to be undertaken by boss Trevor Storton. The second period followed a similar pattern to the first with no cutting edge from either side.

Avenue did pressurise the visitors in the final ten minutes but not enough to make the breakthrough. They left the field dejected and without a goal for the first time this season.

"Can anyone tell me what that game was about?" said frustrated Bradford manager Storton.

"It went from box to box but if the referee hadn't given a penalty I don't think either side would have scored. It was bad defending to give the penalty away and I think that is down to the fitness of the lad who missed the first four games through suspension and holiday.

"On the plus side our very much second string team, with so many missing, has done well against a club paying big money and expected to be challenging for the title."