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FA CUP FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND – CONSETT AFC
LIAM HALL TO @Wrexham_AFC! Thomas McStravick Interview
Watch Bradford Park Avenue Academy Technical Director @McstravickTom’s full interview over on our YouTube channel now! 👇
#UTA #GreenArmy #WxmAFC #Bradford #WelcomeToWrexham #EFL #Signing #Football #Transfer #Wrecsam
MATCHDAY! We are back at the Horsfall Community Stadium this evening, where we host @MorpethTownAFC, KO 7:45PM
Admission is priced at £13 for Adults, £10 for concessions, £5 for Students (with Valid ID), £3 for 12-17s and u12s go free!
See you there #GreenArmy!
UTA
Liam Hall Signs For Wrexham
Academy starlet, Liam Hall, signs for EFL League 2 side Wrexham AFC!
We can today confirm the departure of Goalkeeper Liam Hall to EFL League 2 Side Wrexham AFC!
Liam Hall joined Bradford (Park Avenue) Academy in 2020. He went on to play in the u19s Alliance League alongside other Academy graduates Zak Kersey, Mason Brewis and Myles La Bastide.
Last season (22/23) the Alliance team took it all the way to the final day of the season, but were just pipped into finishing the season in 3rd place, just 4 points behind Wrexham’s u19s side, who finished as champions.
Liam had his first taste of first team football in the 2021/22 season, playing against Campion AFC in the County Cup, and later that season went on to agree non-contract terms with the club whilst still developing in the Academy under club goalkeeper coach Danny King.
He spent the rest of the 21/22 season training alongside Avenue goalie George Sykes-Kenworthy, and gained his first experience in the National League North when he came on during the final day of the season match, seeing the last 15 minutes of action against Southport.
The following season, Liam briefly joined Ossett United, covering for the unavailable Ed Hall on a dual registration basis in November 2022.
Liam continued to impress the coaches, and played a County Cup game alongside other Academy Scholars and members of the first team against Brighouse Town. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, with Avenue going on to lose out on penalties 1-4.
Just under a month later in December 2022, Hall signed his first professional contract with the Club, an 18-month deal, which also made him the first Academy player to sign a professional deal since Academy Technical Director Thomas McStravick took over.
More recently, Hall has appeared in Avenue’s 2023/24 Pre-Season campaign, playing against Thackley in a 3-1 win, and vs Chorley in a 1-0 win.
You can watch the full interview with Mark Bower on Liam Halls transfer over on our YouTube channel below.
INSIDE MATCHDAY – Atherton Collieries AFC (A)
#UTA
UP NEXT – Bamber Bridge (A)
UP NEXT – On Saturday we go up against Bamber Bridge at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium!
Kick Off is scheduled for 3pm, directions to the ground can be found below.
How to get to the Sir Tom Finney Stadium. (Taken from Bamber Bridge website)
By Car:
The ground is located just 3 minutes from junction 1 of the M65.
There is limited parking at the ground. On street parking is available on the residential streets near the ground. (Please consider our neighbours and park carefully.)
Additional car parking: Additional parking is available at Brownedge St Mary’s Church, Brownedge Lane, PR5 6SP (5 mins walk from the ground). Parking is charged at £2 per car – all proceeds go to church funds and local charities.
By Train:
The nearest train station is Bamber Bridge which is a 15 minute walk from the Sir Tom Finney Stadium.
Address:
Sir Tom Finney Stadium, Irongate, Brownedge Road, Bamber Bridge, Preston. PR5 6UU
GROUND INFORMATION
Ground Capacity: 2642 (includes 499 seated in the main stand)
Refreshments:
– Licensed clubhouse bar serving a wide selection of alcoholic and soft drinks, including real ales and continental lagers.
– May’s Place Refreshment Bar serves hot food, drinks, sweets and snacks.
An outside bar (located behind the main stand is open on selected match days
Toilets: Toilets are located in the clubhouse, adjacent to the clubhouse and behind the main stand. Accessible toilets are located in the clubhouse and adjacent to the main stand.
Parking: There is limited parking at the ground on matchdays. Visitors parking in the areas around the ground are asked to be considerate to our neighbours and park legally and considerately.
MATCH REPORT – VICTORY FOR BRADFORD PARK AVENUE WOMEN!
Date: 13/08/23
Venue: Bradford Academy
Competition: Pre-season Friendly
In an entertaining football match, Bradford Park Avenue Women emerged victorious against their opponents Athletico securing a well-deserved 4-3 win.
From the opening whistle, it was evident that both teams were determined to claim victory. Both sets of players displayed their commitment and competitive spirit.
The first half was a scrappy affair with both teams creating a number of scoring opportunities. However, it was Athletico who broke the deadlock and raced into a 2-0 lead.
As the second half commenced, Avenue made changes and out of possession looked to be more aggressive in midfield, working in pairs to press and regain possession back quickly, along with adopting a high press forcing the home side into making errors.
Avenue’s efforts were rewarded and they took the lead within 20 mins of the restart. 3 goals in quick succession for Avenue put the home team on the back foot, forcing them to push forward in search of more goalscoring opportunities to get something out of the game. Ultimately Athleticos opportunities were limited and despite a late rally from the home side Avenue added a fourth and held on for the win.
The victory will undoubtedly serve as a powerful boost to the team’s morale and aspirations for the season ahead.
Anthony Joyce
BPA Ladies Coach
VIEW FROM THE BOARDROOM – MACCLESFIELD
Well, here it is! The first game of a new season. Welcome to the Horsfall, hopefully with the sun shining and all the excitement that comes with high hopes. Nobody has lost yet, so all to play for!
Back in 1971 we had just been voted out of the old Fourth Division (now League 2) into the NPL and our first game was against Macclesfield!
We nicked it 1-0! Some of today’s crowd were there and the goal scorer (Alan Ham) is still a frequent visitor here, with his grandchildren.
This season both clubs want to move up to the National League North. Avenue want a quick return there, whilst Macc are in a hurry to climb back quickly to regain their EFL place.
I’m not sure there are any easy leagues to win these days and that means every game is vital, even game one, when new teammates are getting to work out how to be at their very best together, as soon as possible.
Macclesfield, with its star support, will start as favourites to win the league. A large fan base and wealthy sponsors give them firm foundations for their ambitions, but it also makes them the team to beat in this league and that’s what we will try to do today!
New kit, new-look shop, new players are important but more goals and more of a winning mentality is critical too, especially after the frustrations of last season. Hopefully our new physio will also help us to avoid lengthy injury lists!
Martin and Mark have recruited well, giving us some solid familiarity along with a smattering of new faces and budding young stars. They will no doubt be keeping an eye out for more opportunities throughout August as more players flood the market. Like it or not, affordability, versatility and personality are the prime considerations to fit into the last few squad places and we are moving to a hybrid format, with full time training sessions for our younger squad members and more performance-related rewards.
Listening to Robbie Savage on the Macclesfield club website he likes some continuity of players from season to season and a 4-3-3 formation.
We have retained several of our players from last season and Mark often sets us up as a flexible 4-3-3, so today will be a fascinating contest.
Games come thick and fast early on and we need a far better start than last season, so we welcome testing ourselves against the bookies’ favourites today.
Next month we will also want to start far better cup runs to get more funds in for the first team and to keep our attendances up by heading for Round One proper of the FA Cup.
So, no shortage of atmosphere with a big crowd for the first game, and a good time for us to upset the odds.
Give your team great support and enjoy a good game of football, maybe a glass of beer and some great chips. It’s non-league at its best as a new season gets under way again.
UP NEXT! TUESDAY 15TH we travel to the Skuna Stadium to face Atherton Collieries FC for our first away day of the Season!
Kick Off is scheduled for 7:45pm, and tickets are priced at £10 Adults, £6 Concessions, £4 Under 18s, u11s go FREE!
Tickets are purchased on the turnstiles using cash. Directions can be found on the link below.
http://athertoncollieries.co.uk/location/
@PitchingIn_ @NorthernPremLge
#UTA #GreenArmy #Bradford #Avenue