BOSS Paul Shanley reckons Bradford Town turned in their most impressive display of the season to easily see off Melksham Town in their Boxing Day derby.

Bradford got off to the best possible start in front of an impressive crowd of 445 at the Conigre as Sam Jordan gave them the lead inside five minutes.

Melksham then mounted a comeback but were frustrated by a mean Bradford defence, who inflicted more misery on the home side by doubling the lead just before the break when Jordan bagged his second.

And Bradford were out of the blocks quickly after the restart as Jake Hiscocks found the net to put the result beyond doubt.

“We probably produced our best performance so far this season,” said Shanley.

“We were committed from the off and when we needed to defend we did that well.

“The second goal just before half-time put us in a good position and when we got the third early in the second half we could have got two or three more after that as well.

“We knew that if we didn’t perform something near our best we would struggle as they have got strong threats all over the pitch.”

Melksham chief Darren Perrin had few complaints about the result and admitted his team were beaten by the better side.

“We were disappointed with our performance and it’s a shame that with such a huge crowd there we didn’t play to our potential,” said Perrin.

“Although we had the lion’s share of possession they were ruthless on the counter and we can have few complaints. They thoroughly deserved to win the game.

“When they went 1-0 up we had a very good spell. We had plenty of chances but their keeper made a number of good saves.

“They then hit us on the counter and scored again, and then got a third just after half-time. After that it’s very difficult.”

The two sides face a swift rematch in the FA Vase fourth round in early January but Shanley does not think this gives Bradford the edge.

Shanley said: “The Vase will be a totally different game. Although we won 3-0 I don’t think that counts for anything.

“They still have some very good players and Darren is a clever manager who has experience at a higher level.”