Boss Nathan Haslam regrets missed chances as Whitby Town held to 1-1 draw at Bradford

​The Seasiders opened the scoring through Junior Mondal’s fourth goal in three games, before Chinedu Osadebe levelled just moments after the restart in the second half, writes Paul Connolly.

And Haslam was left disappointed that his side couldn’t come away with all three points due to their profligacy in front of goal, though was full of praise for his team’s opponents.

“We could’ve played another 90 minutes and not scored,” he said.

“We’ve thrown the kitchen sink at it. The performance to a point was really good, though the goal we conceded was disappointing just a minute into the second half.

“They’re fighting for their lives, they’re in the same position as we were last season and fought for everything. They’ve hit the bar and given us a few hairy moments when we’ve been throwing the kitchen sink at it.

“On another night we’d have won the game, but it shows how far we’ve come. We’re disappointed we’ve dropped two points.”

Whitby had the better of the opening stages, and felt they should have been ahead 18 minutes in.

Bradford failed to deal with a free-kick from Priestley Griffiths, with the second phase seeing a low ball from the left meet the head of Harrison Beeden. The keeper parried his initial attempt, the loose ball falling to Jerome Greaves to tap home, though he was adjudged to have been offside.

Shortly after, Greaves found himself requiring treatment and momentum of the game shifted a little in favour of the hosts, ex-Town loanee Will Lancaster rattling the bar with an effort from range.

Brad Dockerty was the next to cause issues, though nobody could get a foot on his fizzed cross, while at the other end Whitby couldn’t convert a similar low ball in from the left.

Ten minutes before the break, Whitby settled back into a rhythm, and found the opener they should’ve had earlier.

Alfie Doherty played a neat one-two on the edge of the box, before his deflected low ball across goal fell to Mondal, who drilled home unchallenged to break the deadlock.

The hosts could have levelled a couple of minutes before the break, Harrison Hopper curling an effort just wide.

That equaliser did come, just seconds after the restart in the second period, Osadebe capitalising on slack Blues defending the guide the ball beyond a rooted Shane Bland.

And the hosts could’ve found themselves ahead just four minutes later, had it not been for a fantastic double save by Bland to deny Kieran Preston.

But from that brief spell of pressure, the game looked to turn back into Whitby’s favour. Connor Smith found space at the back post, but saw his low effort cleared off the line with relative ease from Gianluca Havern.

Despite the amount of possession Whitby were having in advanced areas, there wasn’t a great deal more than half chances arriving for the Seasiders.

A golden opportunity did present itself on 71 minutes however, a floated ball from the right met the head of Griffiths, though he could only head into the hands of George Sykes-Kenworthy.

With six minutes of normal time remaining, it was Doherty’s chance to go close, though he could only curl an effort wide from range.

While Whitby were looking for the winner, Park Avenue got a sniff that they may be able to manage one themselves on the break.

Harry Colville headed goalwards, though didn’t particularly threaten, before Beeden was there to clear off the line for Whitby following Osadebe’s attempt, while Will Longbottom saw an effort pushed wide for a corner.

In the last stages, Havern hit a low effort for the hosts, though it curled just wide of the upright meaning the Blues only managed to bring a point back to North Yorkshire.