Bradford (Park Avenue) won 2-1 against East Midlands side Hinckley Leicester Road in their final friendly of the summer at the weekend, with the goals coming from Kelan Swales and Dan Francis.

Avenue kick off their Northern Premier League East Division campaign at home to North Ferriby next Saturday, and should have rounded off their pre-season campaign against Farsley Celtic at Horsfall.

But the ground was double-booked, meaning Danny Whitaker and his side had to find replace opponents at short notice.

Fortunately, Hinckley stepped in, giving Avenue a good game in the process.

Bradford saw the first action of Saturday’s game when Joe Crosby drove the ball into the area and squared it to Swales.

He tried his luck, but Hinckley’s keeper was quick to stick his leg out and had no trouble clearing the ball.

A minute later Swales got his goal, as Connor Dimaio played a fantastic ball through, which was expertly finished by the forward.

With a quarter of the game gone, Crosby made a run in behind and played the ball to Connor Shanks but the former Bradford City man scuffed his shot wide.

On the half hour, Hinckley came into the game for the first time, forcing Craig Ellison into a save from a free-kick.

Minutes later, the hosts were denied again as their number nine shot from distance, but despite it being on target, Ellison had little trouble keeping the ball out.

Minutes before half time, Avenue almost led as Dan Francis smashed in a shot from a tight angle inside the area, but he was unfortunate as it hit the outside post.

Conner Shanks then tried to find Swales, but the keeper had no problem clearing the shot, meaning Avenue only took a one-goal lead into the break.

Just minutes into the second half, Avenue had another chance as Dimaio played a pass in to Crosby, who danced around the defenders but sent his shot over the bar.

Hinckley tried to gain a foothold as they whipped a ball into the box but the effort was headed straight over the bar.

With over an hour of the game gone, Avenue striker Paddy Sykes found himself one-on-one with the keeper, who was able to make a brilliant save.

With just 15 minutes of the game left to go, Sykes turned provider to give Avenue some breathing space.

He whipped in a perfect cross on to the head of Francis, who made no mistake when putting the ball in the back of the net.

With just over 10 minutes still left of the game, Hinckley were able to pull one back, but they could not find that equaliser, as the visitors ensured they got ready for the new season with a morale-boosting win under their belts.