BRADFORD (Park Avenue) hit the woodwork twice, had two penalty appeals controversially turned down and missed an open goal with the keeper 35 yards off his own line.

Danny Whitaker’s side probably left Horsfall on Tuesday night wondering how they had ended up on the end of a 3-0 defeat to a young Bantams XI, and it meant the boss was pretty content after a game that was far more tightly-contested than the final score suggested.

Speaking to the T&A at Horsfall after the full-time whistle, he said: “It wasn’t really a 3-0 game, but you’re judged in both boxes.

“We didn’t react well enough to the first two goals, and the first one I was disappointed with the transition, as City broke on us and we didn’t get back into shape quickly enough and apply pressure on the ball.

Bilal Hussain celebrates City's well-worked opener, but it was a goal Avenue could have done more to prevent.Bilal Hussain celebrates City's well-worked opener, but it was a goal Avenue could have done more to prevent. (Image: Tom Pearson.)

“There are things we need to work on but that’s fine, it’s what pre-season is for.

“Apart from those errors I thought we played really well in patches, it was just the final ball letting us down in certain instances.

“I thought the way we played after half-time, on another night we’d have scored, but we didn’t and we know goals change games, so we have to be mindful of that.

“It’s pre-season though, the lads are getting to know each other, it’s a completely new group and we have to respect that.”

Oli Norman is one of the new faces at Avenue and the little winger was outstanding on Tuesday, causing trouble for City down the right all night.

Whitaker said: “Oli brings loads of energy and he’s got a good footballing brain.

“He’s a threat going in behind defenders and he’s got good feet to beat people one-on-one.

“When he does get in the box, his decision-making is very good too, but he’s not 100 per cent at it with that yet.

“But we’re going to build towards that, as I don’t want Oli or any of the players to peak too early.

“We want to be in a good place at the start of the season then build into it and progress from there, because if you peak too early, you’ll fall off a cliff.”

While Avenue and City fans would loved to have seen the likes of Andy Cook, Jamie Walker and Brad Halliday down at Horsfall, this evenly-matched contest perhaps suggested the hosts benefitted far more from facing the Bantams’ scholars instead of their first team.

City's first team were literally miles away from Horsfall last night, as they continued their pre-season camp out in Austria.City's first team were literally miles away from Horsfall last night, as they continued their pre-season camp out in Austria. (Image: Thomas Gadd.)

Whitaker said: “I didn’t really mind either way, because ultimately it was just a game to get fitness in the players’ legs and for them to get that understanding of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

“It was also about developing the principles we need to work on, as we want to and need to play in a certain way with the 3G pitch we have.

“The newer players have to come in and understand what that style of play looks like and that’ll take a few games, which we know, so it’s just about building.

“Saturday’s game (at Mossley) will probably be more relevant to us than tonight, because they’re at the same level as us, just in the Northern Premier League West Division, rather than the East like we are.

“It’ll be more like a league game for us and it’ll be a proper test.”