BRADFORD Town were dumped out of the FA Vase last Saturday after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Baffins Milton Rovers.

Three second-half goals from the visitors overshadowed James Rustell’s late reply and saw Town exit the competition at the third-round stage.

Bradford have now scored one goal in each of their last four games, however a leaky defence means they haven’t won since November 3, when they eased past Brockenhurst 4-0 in the second round of the FA Vase.

The Bobcats made a positive start to proceedings with new signing Jamie Lyons having an early shot blocked. Both Lyons and Lee Davidson had been signed from Melksham Town in the week prior and made their debut’s in the starting XI.

A first half that featured very little action was briefly brought to life as a Baffins attacker saw a free header go narrowly wide before Will Hailston also headed wide for Town, following a defensive mix-up.

After a solid first half, where the home side restricted the visitors to half-chances and speculative efforts, Bradford’s defensive woes reared their ugly heads early in the second period.

Callum Dart produced a clever bit of trickery to fool Town ‘keeper Adam Forster and tap home 10 minutes into the second half.

However, straight from the restart, Bradford almost equalised as Dan Cottle broke down the left and his deep cross was rifled against the post by Matt Morris.

Baffins, who were featuring in the competition for only the second time in their history, did face a brief spell of pressure from Town midway through the second half with Hailstone once again heading wide from a Morris centre.

But in the 71st minute, Baffins and Dart grabbed their second. Tommy Leigh found Fadel Seibou, who raced down the line and cut inside the box, before crossing for Dart to double the lead.

Baffins scored their third in 87th minute when Jason Parish and Tommy Tierney combined on the left. The latter crossed for Tommy Leigh to strike from outside the box and give the visitors an unassailable lead.

Bradford did grab a consolation goal shortly before the full-time whistle when Lee Davidson crossed from the left and substitute Rustell headed into the corner, but it wasn’t enough and Town must now concentrate on resurrecting their declining league form.

Steve Leigh’s Baffins will now travel to South East Counties League outfit, Cray Valley in the last 32, following their win.