AN insipid York City display was deservedly punished by a clinical Bradford Park Avenue, who came away from the LNER Community Stadium with a 3-0 win.

York had nearly all the possession but were languorous and ineffective, failing to fashion a meaningful effort on target as they slumped to their second 3-0 National League North defeat in a row.

Avenue, meanwhile, had three shots on target, and three goals to show for it. Adam Nowakowski and Dylan Mottley-Henry netted within four first-half minutes of each other to pile the pressure on their limp hosts before Nicky Clee added the killer blow in the second half.

There were two changes to the starting 11 from Saturday’s 3-0 defeat at Kidderminster, with interim manager John Askey bringing in Matty Brown and Paddy McLaughlin for Maxim Kouogun and Michael Woods, respectively.

Woods was carrying an injury so missed out entirely while Kouogun began the day on the bench, having been replaced by Brown for the second half at Aggborough on Saturday.

Also on the bench was striker Reon Potts, who re-signed for the Minstermen ahead of the 2021/22 season before going out on loan to Ossett United.

Lewis Knight started on the bench for Bradford. The attacker signed for National League outfit Notts County in March last year but returned to the Horsfall this week on loan after injuries hampered his time at Meadow Lane. He scored twice the last time Bradford played York, a 4-2 win on Boxing Day 2020.

Former City striker Rob Guilfoyle also started the day on the bench while Harrison Hopper and Sam Fielding were, as promised, kept out of the squad.

After scoring a goal and getting sent off against Kettering at the weekend, Simon Richman again made up the starting 11.

City started the evening looking to play their way through Bradford, who were happy enough to cede not inconsiderable amounts of possession to the hosts. York were enjoying longer and longer spells on the ball but there were only rare bursts of intensity, which would have been required to get through a packed Avenue.

Good play across the front of a five-man defence early on yielded a crossing chance for Michael Duckworth but his ball in barely left the floor and was emphatically cleared by Akeem Hinds. A similar fate befell Scott Barrow on the other side after more intricate play.

Having tried Mitch Hancox at holding midfield at Kidderminster, Askey on Tuesday night gave the experience McLaughlin a crack. He had little to trouble him in the opening stages but looked somewhat ponderous.

Around the midway point of the half, City had a flurry of pressure, amounting to an effort from Clayton Donaldson – who had struggled with his first touch for the opening stages – straight at George Sykes-Kenworthy before Dyson flashed an effort wide from range.

But City’s toothless play was soon punished in brutal fashion.

In the 27th minute, Bradford broke down the right and the ball was played into the area from the touchline. An initial effort was well saved by the outstretched boot of Pete Jameson, but he could do nothing about the follow-up from Nowakowski, who blasted in from eight yards out with the defence in disarray.

Just four minutes later, it was two to the visitors. Dyson gave the ball away in the last line of defence, playing it straight to Hinds, who burst forward and played a pass which split the scrabbling centre-backs. Dylan Mottley-Henry picked it up and dispatched beyond Jameson.

Normal service resumed after Bradford’s second, with York again stifling limp on the ball and wayward in the final third.

The South Stand appealed for a corner after they felt McLaughlin’s long-range effort was tipped over the bar, and there were shouts for holding on Donaldson in the area late on, but that was about all City gave to get excited about.

City, refreshingly, took a more direct approach in the second half, having as many shots on goal – and twice as many on target – in the first 15 minutes after the break as they did in the first half. Duckworth and Dyson both had fairly soft efforts easily held before Donaldson had an effort glanced around a post by Sykes-Kenworthy.

The same problems remained, though. Against two banks of five primed Bradford men, City’s decision-making had to be far, far better than it was. Neatly summing up the need for action and the sparseness of ideas, Newton blasted a 72nd-minute left-footed effort from a good 35 yards wide of the left-hand upright.

And again, Bradford gave their hosts a lesson in precision with eight minutes to go. Once again winning the ball back in the attacking third, Frankie Maguire got hold of the ball to the left of the area and dragged the ball back to Nicky Clee in plenty of space near the edge of the box. The substitute's left-footed effort just inside a post left Jameson rooted to the spot.

York: Jameson 4, Duckworth 4, Brown 4, Newton 3, Barrow 3, Dyson 4, McLaughlin 4, Hancox 4, Longdon 4, Donaldson 4, McKay 4 (Willoughby 4, 65). Subs not used: Campbell, Haase, Kouogun, Potts.

Star man: Mitch Hancox. Another difficult game to pick anyone out from. Hancox did not do anything egregiously wrong.

Yellow cards: McLaughlin

Bradford Park Avenue: Sykes-Kenworthy, Ross, Hinds, Maguire, Havern, Toulson, Mottley-Henry, Richman, Dockerty (Knight 62), Johnson (Guilfoyle 90), Nowakowski (Clee 70). Subs not used: Hall, Rawson.

Goals: Nowakowski (27), Mottley-Henry (31), Clee (82)

Yellow cards: Johnson

Referee: James Bancroft

Attendance: 2,759

Stats for York | Bradford

Shots (on target): 11 (5) | 6 (3)

Corners: 4 | 1

Offsides: 0 | 1

Fouls: 7 | 5

Yellow cards: 1 | 1