A LATE strike five minutes from time by substitute Graham Dodd sealed an opening day victory for Congleton Town, beating Bradford Park Avenue at home, on Saturday.

Bradford looked the stronger side as the first half got under way while Congleton struggled to get to grips with their play.

The visitors had a couple of good chances through their domination as Ball hit the bar with a great header and Birmingham's on target free kick was brilliantly saved by the Bears number one Allison.

It looked like Congleton would make it to half time without conceding until, with a minute to go, Ball made sure of his header, powering the ball home to give Bradford an interval lead.

The Bears came out on the restart with a much more determined attitude and levelled on 66 minutes. A long kick from Allison was touched on by substitute Dodd to new boy Lee Cunliffe who fired the ball past keeper Kelly.

Allison was then forced into two more top saves before last year's top scorer Dodd completed his supersub performance with his shot dipping over Kelly's head on 85 minutes, to give Congleton Town three points and send the Bears' fans ecstatic

Next Saturday the Bears travel to Alfreton in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup.

Congleton went down 2-1 away at Flixton on Tuesday night after taking the lead.

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