Bradford Town 3-1 Melksham Town – FA Vase 4th Round, Sat. 17th Jan.

Melksham’s run in this season’s FA Vase came to an end at local rivals Bradford Town after an incident-packed 3-1 defeat in front of a crowd of 621 at the home of Bradford. The majority of fans were from Melksham as evidenced by a swathe of black and yellow scarves.

Bradford very nearly got off to the dream start and had a chance to open the scoring inside 10 seconds of the kick-off. Jordan raced down the right and pulled the ball back into the box, but Dave Thompson was just able to hook the bobbling ball away in front of Twaine Plummer.

The next 30 minutes were dominated by Melksham and they got themselves in front midway through the first half. Omar Simpson sent a tame effort into the Bradford box but the ball fell perfectly at the feet of Dan Kovacs, who swivelled on the spot before sending the ball into the bottom corner.

Gary Higdon went close to a second Melksham goal soon afterwards but his effort was deflected wide, and Ryan Bennett headed inches over the top from Ben Thomson’s resulting corner.

Bradford keeper Ed Baldy then pulled off a fantastic full length save to keep the score down to 1-0, tipping Higdon’s close-range header over the top from another Ben Thomson’s cross.

But Melksham were made to pay for their misses and the home side hauled themselves level against the run of play when Jordan tucked home Plummer’s deep cross at the back post.

The Bradford celebrations were cut short, however, as they were swiftly reduced to ten men when Wall leapt into a two footed challenge on Ian Jeffery and was immediately given his marching orders.

That almost allowed Melksham to get their noses back in front before the break and Bradford were grateful to Andy Gilbert as the full-back got in a crucial block to deny Simpson after good work on the left by Higdon.

Five minutes into the second period Bradford were lucky to avoid a second red when Plummer was only cautioned for a lunging tackle which left Will Stead down in a heap but the under pressure referee chose only to show a yellow card.

Melksham were desperately unlucky not to go in front again when Jeffery saw a powerful free-kick cannon off the bar from 25 yards, with the home keeper stationary; but from there Bradford turned the game on its head.

On 65 minutes Thomson was forced to leave the field with an injury, to be replaced by Dan Griffiths

With Melksham surprised to see a freekick and a caution awarded against Bennet out on the flank, Percival’s resultant free kick flicked off the head of a Town player and snuck inside Melksham keeper Rob Brown’s far post to put Bradford in front on 68 minutes. Melksham threw everything forward in search of an equaliser and only brave last-ditch blocks by the Bradford defence and in particular home keeper Baldy denied Kovacs and Higdon when it seemed certain they would find the net.

Simpson was replaced by Rogers on 75 minutes and late on Hillier replaced injured skipper Dave Thompson. But Bradford put the result beyond doubt at the death when they were awarded another free-kick just outside the box and Hiscocks kept the ball low beneath the jumping wall and the ball nestled neatly in the bottom corner.

Melksham continued to press but in the end were unable to get back in the game and bowed out when on another day they could have won through. Rightly home keeper Baldy was given the man of the match award and the Town’s attention now turns to the remaining league campaign where they currently sit in second spot.

The progress in this season’s competition ensures the Town will enter the FA Vase at the Round 2 stage in next year’s competition

Reflecting after the game, Melksham manager Darren Perrin could not believe his side did not win the contest. Perrin cited a crucial save from Ed Baldy as a pivotal moment, with the Bradford keeper tipping over a Gary Higdon header while Melksham were still 1-0 to the good.

“I think the best side lost today,” he said. “We had 85 per cent of the game and God knows how many chances.

“To be fair, the save their keeper made at 1-0 was world-class. It was as good as you’ll see at this level. If that had gone in, it could have been a convincing win for us. We also hit the crossbar and their defenders put their bodies on the line, whereas I can’t remember our goalkeeper having to make a save.

“That’s cup football and shows what happens if you don’t take your chances. I couldn’t ask for any more from my players. They were absolutely brilliant and the one thing I am immensely proud of is our discipline.

“I am disappointed with the goals we gave away from set pieces. It hurts but we’ll move on. All credit to Paul and Bradford, we wish them all the best and hope they get a good draw in the next round.”

Perrin added, “It was great to see the support we brought today, they did the club proud. I cannot praise my chairman and supporters enough, they’ve been fantastic.”