BRADFORD Town boss Paul Shanley was left to rue a series of early missed chances as his side slumped to a heavy defeat at the hands of title-chasing Buckland Athletic.

Town were more than a match for their second-in-the-table visitors at Trowbridge Road during the opening stages and were unlucky to find themselves behind when Gavin Hammon found the net.

Hammon then got his second before Shane Gill made it 3-0 at the break. Si Laughton put Buckland further clear in the second half.

Shanley said: "In the first 20 or 25 minutes I felt like we were the better side. We hit the post through Joe Stradling early on and had a few more really good opportunities which we didn't take.

"We made a mistake for the first goal and that rocked us and they then scored two more before half-time.

"The first of those was about four yards offside and the second saw Ed get beat from about 25-yards, which was a bit disappointing.

"That score flattered them but the game was over then. Those two goals killed us. as it didn't reflect our performance at all in the first half.

"If we'd taken one of those chances then it would have been a different. game and it's not the first time I've said that this season either.

"They were a good side but I think we have played better. I don't really see them as a standout side any more than I do anyone else. We were competitive and they were there for the taking if we'd managed to get a goal early on.

"We had a lot of players out again, I think there were six missing and we had three under-18s on the bench who all came on."

Bradford will be looking to bounce back when they play their final home game of the season on Saturday against Bridport.

Shanley is keen for a win to set them up for the Wiltshire Senior Cup final against Highworth Town at Hardenhuish Park in Chippenham on Wednesday, April 29.

"Our home form has been disappointing but hopefully we can finish on a positive against Bridport and you don't want to be heading into a cup final on the back of three defeats," said Shanley.

"We won't rest people with the final in mind and we aren't in a position to do that anyway with the injuries we've got.

"We didn't turn up when we played Highworth in the FA Vase earlier on and that was disappointing, so hopefully we can be better.

"Highworth haven't seen the best of Bradford Town but hopefully they will do next Wednesday."