ACCRINGTON STANLEY continued their march toward the Nationwide Conference with a convincing victory over one of their promotion rivals.

The Reds maintained a nine-point lead over Stalybridge Celtic at the top of the UniBond Premier League table but had to do it the hard way after conceding a goal after 42 seconds against third-in-the-table Bradford Park Avenue.

The crowd of 873 were silenced when Matt Daly put the visitors ahead just seconds into the game with a glancing header following a free kick.

And it wasn't until the dying seconds of the first half that the home side drew level, Lutel James the scorer from the penalty spot after the ref eyed a shove in the back following a corner.

In the second half, Bradford held out for 30 minutes before the Reds took the lead for the first time in the game through another penalty from James, this time for handball by Bradford's James Stansfield.

The pint-sized striker has now scored twice in three of the last five league games and has 14 for the season.

But not to be outdone, Reds top scorer Paul Mullin got in on the act 11 minutes from time to bag his 17th of the season, converting a Simon Carden cross.

Bradford had a small chance of a comeback late on when they were awarded a penalty for shirt-tugging by Paul Mullin, but Jamie Speare made the save to keep the score at 3-1.

ACCRINGTON STANLEY...3 BRADFORD PARK AVENUE...1