Late winner send Avenue into dreamland

Bradford Park Avenue ended the regular season by defying the odds and securing a play-off spot thanks to a dramatic late winner from Adam Boyes.

Mark Bower initially named an unchanged starting eleven but was forced to make a change before kick-off when Matt Hill flagged up an issue with his calf in the warm-up. Central defender Rob Atkinson was drafted in as an emergency replacement, shifting Shane Killock to the vacant left-back position in the process.

Avenue had to deal with an onslaught of early pressure in the opening exchanges and Steven Drench had to make an excellent save to deny Dan Bradley within the opening two minutes.

The visitors did have opportunites of their own despite being under mounting pressure and Nicky Wroe struck the post with an effort that lacked power, but left Brandon Hall stranded.

Kidderminster dealt a blow to Avenue’s play-off hopes with 14 minutes on the clock when Elton Ngwatala’s cross found Dan Bradley. The Harriers forward showed excellent composure to steer past Drench and deflate the Yorkshire play-off hopefuls.

 Emmanuel Sonupe had impressed for Kidderminster in the reverse fixture at the Horsfall Stadium and caused Avenue problems throughout the first-half.

He cut in from the right before unleashing a curling effort that dropped just over the crossbar.

Kidderminster remained firmly on top for the remainder of the first-half, spraying the ball around with confidence and looking comfortable in defence.

Mark Bower’s side did, however, come close to opening the scoring when Oli Johnson pulled back to Jamie Spencer on the edge of the box, but the midfielder sliced wide. Immediately after, Johnson forced Hall into making a spectacular stop to keep his low drive out.

Opportunities fell to Sonupe and Ngwatala as the half approached its end, but Drench was in top form to thwart the Harriers’ talented frontline.

Frank Mulhern tested Hall quickly after the restart, forcing the busy stopper to beat away a drilled effort from just inside the 18-yard box.

The hosts almost doubled their lead when Sam Austin found himself with only Drench to beat, but Avenue’s ‘keeper continued to demonstrate why he is so highly-rated with another save.

As the half progressed, Avenue threw more and more bodies forward but were repeatedly thwarted by the hosts’ sturdy backline.

This was until a deflected corner delivery fell to Mulhern on the edge of the box, who buried the ball in the bottom corner with a perfectly executed finish.

News of Spennymoor Town’s lead against Southport had already filtered through to the Aggborough Stadium, setting up a tense finish to a thoroughly entertaining second-half.

Kidderminster, did, however, eventually crumble under intense Avenue pressure. Johnson worked his magic down the right before drilling across goal and Boyes stabbed home at the back-post after the ball took a series of deflections in a brief scramble.

Avenue will now visit Kidderminster again on Wednesday night, looking to secure a place in the play-off semi-final.

Kidderminster Harriers: Hall, Vaughan, Austin, Weeks, Digie, Taylor, Sonupe, Truslove (Waring 60’), Brown, Bradley (Pearson 45’), Ngwatala.

Unused substitutes: Croasdale, McQuilkin, Ironside.

Bradford Park Avenue: Drench, Ross, Atkinson, Wroe (c), Killock, Havern, Brooksby, Spencer (Vidal 74’), Boyes, Johnson, Mulhern (Boshell 90+5’).

Unused substitutes: Toulson, Hall, Smith.

 Referee: Scott Simpson

Spirited Avenue keep the dream alive

Bradford Park Avenue made a late surge into the play-off positions whilst ensuring Harrogate Town would have to fight it out in the end-of-season showcase to seal promotion.

The hopes of the two sides provided a sharper edge to a Yorkshire derby that was going to have one regardless, and both sets of supporters contributed to the electric atmosphere within the ground.

Chances were few and far between in the early stages, with the rivals cancelling each other out and struggling to carve open opportunities. Harrogate dangerman George Thomson was the first to call Avenue stopper Steven Drench into action, forcing him to palm a low drive wide of the post.

Minutes later, it was the visitors’ goalkeeper James Belshaw that was thrust into the action as he was forced to keep out a close-range effort from Adam Boyes.

The hosts took the lead after 24 minutes when Wroe’s out-swinging corner was met by Boyes, whose header looped over a helpless Belshaw and into the top corner.

Mark Bower’s in-form side had an opportunity to double their advantage shortly after, as a Belshaw clearance failed to reach the halfway line and Oli Johnson was given the chance to try chip the goalkeeper. The Avenue forward’s audacious lob from 25-yards, however, sailed over the crossbar.

The visitors began to knock on the door more frequently as the first-half reached its latter stages but couldn’t find a way past Drench as the goalkeeper held efforts from Jake Wright and Jack Emmett.

A half-chance fell to Warren Burrell immediately after the restart, but Shane Killock made a crucial block to deflect the Harrogate defender’s half-volley wide.

A catalogue of errors from both sides led to an eventful period in the game and three bookings were dished out in the midst of some desperate defending.

Harrogate eventually crumbled under some intense Avenue pressure, with the home side doubling their lead with a remarkable goal. Johnson pulled back to an advancing Wroe, who showed impressive skill to flick to the back-post where Frank Mulhern was waiting to steer past Belshaw.

Harrogate came agonisingly close to pulling one back when Wright escaped his marker at a corner but headed wide when he should have really converted.

The on-loan striker did eventually find the target when he reacted quickest to hammer home from close-range after Drench parried a low drive from Dominic Knowles.

Boyes then brought an abrupt end to Harrogate celebrations, tucking away after Belshaw had palmed a Johnson strike into his path following a mazy run in which he weaved his way past three defenders.

Simon Weaver’s side couldn’t recover from the late blow, allowing Salford City to clinch the title despite losing to Boston United.Avenue now sit in 7th place but could lose their grip on the coveted spot if Spennymoor Town gain four points from their final three games.

Bradford Park Avenue: Drench, Ross, Hill(Atkinson 89’), Wroe (c), Killock, Havern, Brooksby, Spencer, Boyes, Johnson, Mulhern(Boshell 81’)

Unused substitutes: Toulson, Hall, Smith

Harrogate Town: Belshaw, Fallowfield, Swain (Thewlis 71’), Falkingham (c), Burrell, McCombe, Thomson (Kerry 77’), Emmett, Wright, Knowles, Agnew (Beck 61’)

Unused substitutes: Cracknell, Kennedy

Referee: Richard Bartlett

Bradford Park Avenue climbed to eighth in the table after becoming the first team in the Vanarama National League North to do the double over high-fliers Brackley Town.

 Ryan Toulson unleashed a left-footed thunderbolt with ten minutes remaining to clinch a 1-0 victory over the promotion-chasing Saints.

Mark Bower made two changes to the side that beat Boston United, dropping Steven Drench to the substitutes bench in place of Ed Hall and fielding Ryan Toulson in central midfield in place of Danny Boshell. Avenue’s substitute bench featured Academy defender Lewis Johnson and young striker Bradley Oliver also travelled with the team.

Avenue flew out of the blocks and had a several opportunities to open the scoring early on. Toulson blazed over after a neat exchange between Nicky Wroe and Frank Mulhern provided him with the space to let fly.

Adam Boyes wriggled away from his marker in the box, only to fail to generate enough power in his shot to trouble Danny Lewis.

Wroe had no trouble in generating power with an effort of his own shortly after, hammering a volley goal wards before seeing it fly wide.

However, the hosts grew into the game and began asking questions of Avenue’s backline.

James Armson had a golden opportunity to fire Brackley ahead after being teed up by Matt Lowe but blasted over from close-range to the despair of home supporters.

Lowe provided an outlet for the Saints throughout, as did Lee Ndlovu who constantly looked to get in behind using his blistering pace. The forward’s composure, however, was lacking and he fired into the clutches of Hall after rounding Shane Killock.

As the interval approached, there was a lull in entertainment and the only incident of note in the latter stages was a confrontation between several players following a foul on Hall.

Brackley piled the pressure on Avenue after the half-time break, keen to gain the upper hand by striking first. Connor Franklin drilled across the box and his delivery came very close to finding Ndlovu, but Shane Killock hooked over his own crossbar to clear the danger.

Franklin then cut in from the left before pulling the trigger but was thwarted by the outstretched leg of Mark Ross.

Lowe was also denied by excellent Avenue defending, as a Luca Havern block lifted the Saints winger’s effort over the crossbar.

Hall was called into action to tip a powerful Armson volley over the crossbar, stunning Brackley fans behind the goal with his acrobatic stop.

Oli Johnson made his return from a three-match suspension to replace Mulhern as the clock ticked and made an instant impact with a crucial assist.

Wroe picked the substitute out with a diagonal delivery that the forward flicked into the path of an on-rushing Toulson. He darted into the box to latch on to it before hammering home with his left foot to give Mark Bower’s side the lead.

Despite a nervy final few minutes, Avenue held on and secured one of their most impressive wins of the season so far.

Brackley Town: Lewis, Myles, Franklin (Nicholson 74’), Byrne, Graham, Dean (c), Lowe, Armson, Ndlovu (Brown 82’), Williams (Iaciofano 78’), Walker.

Unused substitutes: Streete, Diggin.

Bradford Park Avenue: Hall, Ross, Hill, Wroe (c), Killock, Havern, Brooksby (Recizac 90+1’), Toulson, Boyes, Spencer, Mulhern (Johnson 71’).

Unused substitutes: Johnson, Drench, Boshell.

Referee: Rob Massey-Ellis

Attendance: 290