Harrogate Town completed a League double over Bradford Park Avenue,with a 1-0 win, despite finishing the match with only nine men.
Town fielded an unchanged starting eleven,while new signing, Ruben Jerome, was given a place on the subs bench.
The first chance of the game fell to the visitors after Danny Boshell broke down the right,but his brother Nicky side-footed his dangerous cross wide of the upright.
Seconds later, Joe Leesley lobbed just wide of the angle of post and bar as Town retaliated.
However,after ten minutes, Simon Ainge, continued where he left off last week, when he headed Lloyd Kerry’s centre past Jon Worsnop for the only goal of the game.
Jon Paul Pittman headed Ainge’s knock down against the bar and Kerry sliced wide as Town piled on the pressure,while at the other end Emile Sinclair lobbed well wide for Avenue.
A good run from Ben Parker,set up Leesley and his shot forced Worsnop into a diving save at the foot of the post.
Unfortunately, as the half ended,Town were reduced to ten men when Pittman was red carded by Referee Paul Brown, for a wild two footed tackle on James Knowles.
Luke Shiels headed a Leesley corner narrowly wide of the upright as Town started the second half on the front foot,but they were soon reduced to nine men when Ainge was harshly booked twice in quick succession.
Joe Colbeck was also booked for dissent, and worse was to follow when Tom Platt brought down Nicky Boshell in the area.
Boshell shrugged off the attention of Reece Webb-Foster to take the penalty himself, but Peter Crook made a magnificent double save to keep out the penalty and Sinclair’s follow up.
A scything tackle on Andi Thanoj by Avenue skipper,Ryan Toulson, started an unseemly melee, which ended with both Thanoj and Toulson being cautioned.
The Town goal had a charmed life as Avenue exploited their numerical advantage, but a combination of erratic Bradford finishing and heroic Town defending saved the day.
As the match entered six minutes of added time,Colbeck had a chance to relieve the pressure when he broke clear, but he shot straight at Worsnop and Warren Burrell’s header from the rebound lacked the power to trouble the keeper.
Harrogate Town 1 Bradford Park Avenue 0 Att.995
Town
1 Crook, 2 Platt, 3 Parker,4 Thanoj,5 Shiels,6 Ainge (c),7 Colbeck,8 Kerry,9 Pittman,10 Burrell,11 Leesley (Swain 72).
Unused subs,12 Chilaka,14 Ellis,15 Turner,17 Jerome. Sent off Pittman,Ainge. Booked Thanoj,Colbeck.
Scorer Ainge 10.
Bradford Park Avenue,
1 Worsnop,2 Toulson (c),3 Nowakowski (Webb-Foster 66),4 Dean (Chippendale 57),5 Killock, 6 Knowles,7 Wroe,8 Danny Boshell,9 Sharp (Dyche 77),10 Sinclair, 11 Nicky Boshell.
Unused subs, 12 Coates,13 Hall (Gk). Booking Toulson Att.995
Report by John Harrison.
