Bradford (Park Avenue) were thumped 4-1 by play-off chasing Buxton in National League North at Horsfall on Saturday, with their poor form pushing them closer to the drop.

This fourth successive defeat leaves Mark Bower's side nine points from safety, and with only seven games to go, they are odds-on to go down.

Avenue were in the game with half-an-hour to go, Will Longbottom's penalty having drawn them level early in the second half.

But Buxton finished the game strongly, and ended up leaving West Yorkshire with a comfortable three points.

There was an early penalty shout from the visitors on Saturday as Joe Ackroyd went down inside the box, but the referee waved their appeals away.

Despite an even first half, the visitors took the lead just before half-time.

Max Conway collected the ball from the left flank and topped off an excellent solo run with a precise finish into the far corner.

But Bower’s side immediately responded after the break, as they were awarded a penalty following a shirt pull by Buxton's Tom Elliot.

Longbottom stepped up and calmly converted his penalty past Theo Richardson.

The visitors grabbed the lead again just before the hour mark, as a fantastic cross from Brad Jackson saw Connor Kirby produce a brilliant diving header to beat George Sykes-Kenworthy.

Jackson topped off an impressive performance by scoring Buxton’s third.

Sykes-Kenworthy got a hand to his effort from 25 yards out, but could not prevent the strike from finding the net.

Buxton added salt to Avenue’s wounds when they scored their fourth with six minutes to go.

Diego De Girolamo knocked the ball across to Elliot, who made up for his earlier mistake by finishing confidently.

After the defeat, Bower said: “I thought the game in the first half was tough for us, we struggled to get out.

“From a defensive point of view, we did okay and restricted them to very little, but from a footballing point of view, we were very poor and gave the ball away a lot.

“We didn’t really give them a clear chance at least but then their lad scores from outside the box.

“In the second half we started really well, got on the front foot and drew level.

“It then turned into a really difficult game, and we really struggled in the last 20 to 30 minutes to a very good side.”

Bower’s side travel to another play-off chasing side in Curzon Ashton on Saturday, knowing three points is imperative in their desperate quest to avoid relegation.