Bradford Park Avenue 1, FC Halifax Town 1

Bradford Park Avenue maintained their unbeaten start to life in the Blue Square Bet North Division by drawing an entertaining derby clash against FC Halifax Town today at Horsfall Stadium.

The Shaymen played half an hour with ten men after Gareth Seddon was shown a straight red card.

It was a fall from grace for the visitors’ striker because he was their hero of the first half after he had given Halifax the lead.

Jason St Juste had gone down in the area in the tenth minute under a challenge from Adam Clayton but as the Shaymen appealed for a penalty, the well-placed referee was not interested.

Soon after they were in the lead when Seddon chest-trapped Ryan Toulson’s cross and half-volleyed past Tim Deasy.

The visitors had a very strong spell after that but Avenue weathered it, and on the half-hour they were denied by the woodwork.

A shot from Michael Duckworth struck the post but Town’s keeper Matt Glennon got one hand on the follow-up shot from Richard Marshall, and skipper Danny Lowe completed the clearance.

Bradford never gave up and got their equaliser right on the stroke of half-time.

Martin Drury curled a low free-kick into the area and former Shayman Danny Holland timed his run to stab home from close range via Glennon and his post.

Avenue kept the visitors interested with some kamikaze defending and they almost re-took the lead when Jason Jarret’s long-range dipping shot was palmed onto the post and out for a corner by Deasy.

Seddon’s dismissal came after an off-the-ball incident. Drury reeled away from the striker and Bradford skipper James Knowles squared up to Seddon before looking to the assistant referee.

The man in the middle settled the players down before consulting his assistant and then brandishing a straight red.

Halifax battled well with ten men but Avenue won the woodwork-striking contest when they hit a post for a second time.

Marshall drilled in a shot following a throw-in in the penultimate minute and it came back off the foot of the upright before hitting Glennon and going for a corner.

Five minutes of stoppage time failed to separate the sides so they settled for a point apiece in front of a bumper corwd of 1,614.