THIS was a kamikaze display that had to be seen to be believed.

Gerry Luczka’s men had a dream start — two goals up with only 13 minutes played — but proceeded to self-destruct by conceding four at the other end before half-time and gift the struggling Yorkshiremen their first league win of the season.

You cannot blame the hosts for shutting up shop and playing Boro on the counter for most of the second half.

They had done their job, after being handed their goals on a silver platter by what can only be described as some generous defending by the Stainton Park men.

When Owen Roberts swung in a sublime cross for Mark Drew to fire home from just inside the 18-yard box, Boro got exactly what their lively start deserved.

The icing on the cake came three minutes later when Roberts’ left sided free-kick eluded everyone except the in-form Tom Brooks who headed home from close range.

But not even the most pessimistic Radcliffe supporter could have predicted what was to happen next.

Boro failed to deal with the lively runs of Chris Ovington, notably in the 17th minute when Roberts lunged into the tackle to concede a penalty, which Darren Thornton despatched with ease to pull the score back to 2-1.

Town were level five minutes later following a catastrophic mix-up between Radcliffe keeper Joe Brabbin and his defence, which allowed Thornton time to fire in his second with ease from 18 yards.

The nightmare was not over yet. Thornton beat Brabbin to a high cross — to be fair to the Boro keeper, he looked to have been fouled — but the referee’s whistle didn’t blow, and substitute Luke Woodall was on hand to roll in the goal that gave the hosts a 3-2 lead after only 30 minutes.

Five minutes before the interval, it was to get even worse when Tom Greaves carved his way through the middle of the Boro defence after being gifted possession by Steve Howson.

Howson almost atoned when he hit the bar with 12 minutes left and Eddie Stanford — Boro’s leading scorer — forced a fumble from Garforth keeper Tom Morgan with a fierce drive, but the loose ball did not fall to a Radcliffe player.

There were a few handbags at dawn along the way, as the referee risked losing control of the match, but Luczka, the Radcliffe director of football, was right after the match when he said: “We can’t blame the referee for what happened tonight. Every one of their goals was down to individual errors and you just can’t do that and get away with it, at this level of football. We have to learn that quickly.”

BORO: Brabbin, Brown, Roberts (Connor), Kelly, Unsworth, Barlow (Wharton 46), Drew, Jones, Howson (Manning), Brooks, Stanford. Not used: Hill