DARREN Perrin gave full credit to opponents Bradford Town after his Melksham Town side came off second best in their Boxing Day derby.

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

Perrin’s men then mounted a comeback but were frustrated by a mean Bradford defence, who inflicted more misery on Melksham by doubling the lead just before the break when Jordan bagged his second of the game.

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

“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.”

Although frustrated by the result, Perrin says it does not take the gloss off what has been an amazing 2014 for Melksham.

Town’s flying start to the season sees them sit second in the table and they also retained the Wiltshire Senior Cup back in May.

Melksham also face a swift rematch against Bradford in the FA Vase fourth round in early January.

Perrin said: “It’s been an incredible year and you just have to look at the support we had on Boxing Day to see the potential we have at the club.”