Bradford Park Avenue 4, Ossett Town 5: Never in the field of football conflict have so many goals been met with such little enthusiasm by so few.

Playing in their first game of 2003, Avenue were dumped out of the UniBond Challenge Cup by lower league opposition in a nine-goal damb squib.

Clearly suffering from the recent lack of football, Bradford were beaten 5-4 by Ossett Town in a forgettable encounter which finished 2-2 in regulation time.

Despite featuring nine goals and two disallowed ones and Avenue coming back from 4-2 to level things up, this was a remarkably dull game of football and one which left Avenue manager Trevor Storton fuming.

"Sometimes the players really disappoint me," said a furious Storton after the

game.

"How can we defend like that? - it was shocking. This Ossett lot were poor, and should never have been allowed to knock five past us.

"If these defenders want to stay at this club they will have to work harder than that."

Last time Avenue ventured out they drew 2-2 with Stalybridge with a strong performance and a corner looked to have been turned.

But after only a few minutes of last night's third-round cup tie, it was clear that the time off had forced the club into a massive backwards step.

Fortunately only 134 turned up at the Horsfall Stadium to watch Phil Lindley give the home side the lead with a scrappy conversion of a James Stansfield long throw.

But 18 minutes later it was all square as Rob Bloomfield was allowed to curl a saveable free-kick in from 25 yards after a Stansfield foul.

Ossett's Steven Olekseycz then had a header disallowed by referee John France after a push at a corner.

The second-half offered little improvement but a low cross from Richard Tracey, who provided Avenue's only positive performance, was dummied by Robbie Painter before trialist Mark Vickerage from Brodsworth fired home under pressure.

But with eight minutes left, and the crowd desperate to get a result and get home, David Freeman managed to fire a shot home past Lutz Pfannenstiel.

The dreaded extra-time arrived, as it had done in the previous round's victory another Division One side Spennymoor United, and the visitors took the lead when Olekseycz charged through and chipped the keeper just seconds into the extended period.

And minutes later it was 4-2 as Bloomfield stabbed home his second.

A Graham Mitchell penalty pulled things back after Tracey was fouled and then Lindley broke through to level things up at 4-4 with a nicely lofted finish when one on one with the Ossett keeper Mick Clark.

But in injury time James Walshaw made the most of generous defending to bang home the winner.

Expect many changes for next week's league clash with Harrogate.