10 Nov 2020

Two second-half goals from Jake Hibbs and Nicky Clee secured an impressive victory for the Avenue against Alfreton Town at the Horsfall Stadium.

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Following debutant’s Omar Sanyang header, saved by George Willis, quick reactions from the home side saw Hibbs fire home from 12 yards to give his side the lead.

The Avenue doubled their advantage after fine play between Isaac Marriott and Clee, saw the number eleven unleash an unstoppable strike into the top corner from 16 yards.

The visitors, buoyed by being unbeaten before kick-off, were playing with plenty of confidence flowing through their veins.
The first notable opportunity fell to striker Elliott Reeves who capitalised on confusion between Luca Havern and Dan Atkinson, but his instinctive effort smashed against the side-netting from eight yards.

Billy Heath’s side continued to dominate the game and forced Atkinson into two excellent saves. Firstly, the Avenue number one denied midfielder Dan Bradley who struck a low right-footed effort towards the bottom corner. 
Ten minutes later, Reeves collected a loose pass from the Avenue, but the striker’s powerful strike was pushed wide from close range.

Then, somehow, the away side didn’t break the deadlock. Inside the box, Bobby Johnson fired an effort on target which was superbly saved by Atkinson. From the rebound, Reeves set himself up, and his strike was bravely blocked by Hibbs and smashed against the woodwork from six yards.

With the half drawing to a close, the Avenue started to look more dangerous and Willis was called into action after stinging his palms from a 25 yard strike from Clee.

After the break, and still in the game, Mark Bower’s side looked stronger and caused more problems for the Alfreton Town defence for the final 45 minutes.

Harry Boyes, who continues to impress in the white and green, was cutting through small gaps to create chances and winning vital free-kicks in crucial areas of the pitch. It was his delivery which found Hibbs but his header was saved by Willis from 12 yards.

With twenty minutes left, Bradford opened the scoring. Lewis Knight delivered a teasing cross to Sanyang, who’s header was saved by Willis. But, he was alert and first to the second ball which allowed him to pass to Clee, and his first-time lay-off was struck home by the unmarked Hibbs.
Proving difficult to break down, the Avenue extended their lead in fine fashion. A quick counter-attack started by Clee saw Marriott take his time after receiving a diagonal ball. The midfielder spotted and chipped an excellent ball to Clee at the far post and he fired a left-footed shot into the top corner.

The visitors tried to find a way through a stubborn Avenue defence but were denied, with excellent organisation from back to front. 
Into additional time, the tireless Marriott sprinted to chase down a short back-pass and managed to beat Willis to the ball. From 35 yards, on the touchline, the young midfielder tried to score, but his effort brushed the post which saw the referee blow his final whistle as the Avenue dugout celebrated an excellent victory

Bradford (Park Avenue): Atkinson, Ross, Boyes, Marriott, Havern (c), Lund, Hibbs, Toulson, Sanyang (Downing 86), Knight (Lyons 76), Clee.

Subs not used: Fawcett, Huffer, Windass.

Goals: Hibbs (69), Clee (78)

Alfreton Town: Willis, Atkinson, Fox (Clackstone 50), Branson, Lees, Jones, Smith (Day 79), Bradley (c), Walker (Tuton 63), Reeves, Johnson.

Subs not used: Unwin-Maris, Lund

Yellow: Branson

Attendance: Behind-closed-doors 

Referee: James Westgate

26 Oct 2020

Avenue and Trust Support Food Bank

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Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC and The Horsfall Community Trust (THCT) have joined forces to support a local food bank. Both organisations are based at Horsfall Community Stadium in South Bradford.

When learning that the Trust was making a £250 donation to the food bank the football club offered to match the donation. As a result, the food bank will receive a £500 donation.

There is an increasing call on food banks in the Bradford District. The support given by Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC and the Horsfall Community Trust is in recognition of the absence of free school meals during half term. It is the second donation made by the Trust.

The bowls hut in Harold Park, next to Horsfall Stadium, is being used as a food bank distribution point during half term and is operated by the Friends of Harold Park. It is one of several distribution points being used in the area.

Sandale Trust is producing food parcels. Anyone wishing to make a donation can do so via the Trust’s website https://sandaletrust.org/ or by phoning 01274 270170.

26 Aug 2020

Club announcement for ticket allocation for the Ossett pre-season friendly

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As has been announced by Ossett, the capacity for the upcoming friendly for this Saturday will be 200 fans and Ossett have decided to allocate 30 tickets to Bradford (Park Avenue). This is a small number and after some thought and deliberation it has been decided to offer this limited number of tickets initially to our season ticket holders.

If you are a 20/21 season ticket holder and would like to apply for a ticket for the game at Ossett this Saturday please can you register your interest for a ticket with Calum Cullen via his email calum.cullen@bpafc.com

Note that registration will close at 5.30pm on Thursday the 27th of August to allow us time to process.

Please be advised that it is one ticket per season ticket holder and if we are over subscribed we will be randomly selecting 30 lucky fans who will then be invited to purchase their ticket via our website. For the reasons of administration and track and trace tickets will only be available via the website. In the unlikely event that the season ticket holders do not take up the full allocation any surplus will be offered for general release on Friday 28th of August at 9.00 am.

#UTA

25 Aug 2020

Match Preview: Campion

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The Avenue travel to Campion this evening as the preparations for the new season gathers pace

Tonight see’s Mark Bower’s fledgling squad take on another local opponent in Campion. The game is being held at their Scotchman Road ground with a 7.30pm  kick off. The stadium capacity for todays game will be 150 and that will be on a first come first served basis, so get there early if you want to avoid disappointment. Campion have also announced they will be running the evePASS app for track and trace. You can download the app from this link ( https://evepass.app/ ) and pre-register your basic details to save time at the gate or do it at the ground.

After last weekends steady winning start from the squad, we look to be back at full strength with both Luca Havern and, the goal scoring Jamie Lyons, recovering in time from small knocks.

We also welcome back, for all of those who cant make it to the ground or prefer the comfort and safety of your own armchair, our very own Mick Gledhill, who will be lighting up the airwaves in his own inimical style on the BPAFC Mixlr radio station. https://mixlr.com/bpafc

Team news for tonight’s game, sees another game of two halves. Getting valuable playing time for all and also another chance for Mark and Danny to run their discerning eye over the trialists.

1st half team

1 Dan Atkinson

22 A Trialist

2 Mark Ross

5 Luca Havern

3 Matty Downing

8 Jake Hibbs

11 Nicky Clee

20 A Trialist

9 Ollie Johnson

18 Jamie Lyons

21 A Trialist

2nd half team

13 Jacob/Atkinson

6 Mitch Lund

15 A Trialist

17 Adam (£1) Nowakowski

12 Ryan Toulson

4 Isaac Marriott

14 A Trialist

19 A Trialist

7 Lewis Knight

16 A Trialist

10 Brad Dockerty

Enjoy the game whether you go in person or listen to Mick on the radio #UTA

22 Aug 2020

Match Report: Silsden AFC 1-2 Bradford (Park Avenue)

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Attendance: 139

In the first pre-season friendly of the 2020-21 campaign, Bradford (Park Avenue) narrowly defeated neighbours Silsden AFC at the Cobbydale Construction Stadium.The visitors took the lead just before the break when the impressive Isaac Marriott dribbled 50 yards but he was brought down inside the box, just before he was about to shoot. From the spot, Oli Johnson sent Silsden’s goalkeeper Alfie Drake the wrong way to make 1-0 at half-time.

Shortly after the restart, young Academy product Jamie Lyon doubled the Avenue’s advantage with a well-taken left footed finish from the edge of the box, following good work by a couple of Bradford trialists. Then, Danny Forrest’s side halved the deficit with a powerful header from Shaun Airey but, despite a couple of chances in the final few minutes, the National League outfit held on.

The Sils could’ve taken an early lead as winger Chris Wademan capitalised on a defensive mistake from a Trialist, but his shot flew over the bar from 12 yards.Mark Bower’s side started to gain some momentum, with Marriott and Nicky Clee looking to orchestrate opportunities from the middle of the park. Clee, with his usual great footwork, opened up space to fire an effort on goal, only for Drake to save well with his feet. Learning from former Avenue striker Forrest for the Sils, Antony Brown tried to copy what Clee had just done at the other end of the pitch, but debutant Dan Atkinson in the Bradford goal managed to catch his strike from close range.

With half-time approaching and Atkinson diving at the feet to deny Wademan the opening goal, Marriott showed his class. The new signing dribbled past a few players to find himself in a position to put his side in the lead. But, the midfielder was fouled by Lewis Morgan and the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Johnson, wearing number nine, calmly slotted the ball into the corner to break the deadlock.

With a brand new team for the second half, the Avenue started brightly and following some good work by two trialists down the left wing, the ball found its way to Lyons. The striker who featured in the first team last season, curled a lovely left-footed strike past Drake from 12 yards.The home side also made changes to their starting eleven, and as the weather continued to be a challenge for both teams, the Sils scored from a corner. Defender Airey rose above his mark to nod the ball home from six yards.The hosts pushed forward to equalise and nearly snatched a dramatic draw, only to be denied by the returning Mark Ross who was alert and cleared the ball off the line to give the Avenue a narrow victory.

The next pre-season friendly for the Avenue is on Tuesday 25th August, away at Campion AFC.

#UTA

First Half Team: 

Dan Atkinson, A Trialist, Mitch Lund, A Trialist, Matty Downing, A Trialist, Isaac Marriott, Nicky Clee, Lewis Knight, Ollie Johnson, Brad Dockerty 

Second Half Team: 

Jacob/Atkinson, A  Trialist, Mark Ross, Luca Havern, Ryan Toulson, A Trialist, Adam Nowakowski,  Jake Hibbs, Jamie Lyons (Danny Boshell 60), A Trialist, A Trialist 

12 Mar 2020

MATCH PREVIEW: Bradford (Park Avenue) vs Curzon Ashton

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Saturday afternoon represents massive time period in Bradford (Park Avenue)’s season as they welcome relegation rivals Curzon Ashton to the Horsfall Stadium.

After two games and two big victories against Chester and King’s Lynn over the last week, this game on Saturday now brings a different meaning than what it looked like two weeks ago.

After Avenue’s painful loss to Gloucester City just over a month ago left them 16 points from safety, the two victories in the two games since now mean they are 11 points from the drop, but they can reduce that to 8 with a win on the weekend.

It’s been an unbelievable week for Mark Bower’s side after a month off due to postponed fixtures. Firstly, they welcomed playoff chasing Chester to the Horsfall Stadium last week in a game not many thought they had a chance in — but the Avenue players and Avenue staff clearly had their own self belief as they were able to pull off a shock 2-1 win after goals from Tom Clare and Oli Johnson sandwiched a Matty Waters goal for Chester.

Then just three days later on a very cold and windy Tuesday night, Avenue made the long trip to Norfolk to take on Kings Lynn, who, with a win would’ve put themselves in first place in the league table.

They normally say the league table doesn’t lie, but on this occasion it did, as Bradford stunned the hosts, completing another shocking upset — two within three days — as a Tom Clare efforts gave the Green Army a 1-0 victory.

Meanwhile for Curzon Ashton, they currently occupy the final spot of safety in the league table, sitting in 20th place, 11 points above Avenue at the bottom of the table.

That’s what makes this clash so important for Bradford. A win and they are 8 points from safety with 9 games left which is very doable. However, a loss leaves them 14 points from safety with 9 games left which would pretty much make the huge results that the Avenue have picked up over the last week count for nought.

Despite the last two wins giving reasonable hope, it won’t be easy. Curzon Ashton are a very tough team to beat as they have proven in their last couple of games as they earned draws with York City and Boston United, who are both chasing promotion.

But if Avenue are to complete what would be a miraculous escape from relegation, this is simply a game that they have to win.

7 Mar 2020

MATCH REPORT: Bradford (Park Avenue) 2-1 Chester

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Bradford (Park Avenue)’s hopes of completing an unlikely and miraculous great escape were given a massive boost as they beat promotion hopeful’s Chester 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at the Horsfall Stadium.

It had been a long time coming for an Avenue side who hadn’t won a game since December, and had been on the losing end of some very unfair results over the last couple of months of the season.

This time though, Bradford were finally rewarded for what was a terrific performance against one of the league’s best sides. It was a very cagey opening to the game for both sides, with the wind certainly playing a factor in that. At some points, you didn’t even know where the ball was going to land due to the sheer strength of the wind, but fortunately, it seemed that Avenue were the ones who were able to adapt best to the wintery conditions.

Because of the conditions, it always felt like the first goal was going to be vital and it was the Avenue who grabbed it. Tom Clare’s original strike from a superb Ryan Toulson cross struck the post. A melee then erupted on the goal line, and no one really seemed to know where the ball was. Eventually the ball looked like it struck Clare, seemingly off an attempted clearance by one of the Chester defenders and fell into the net.

Ugly goal or not, Mark Bower won’t have cared and it meant his side entered the break 1-0 ahead. However, it was important to not get carried away as Avenue also took a 1-0 lead into half time in the reverse fixture earlier this season and lost the game. It looked like it was going to be a repeat of that as Chester equalised on 50 minutes, Matty Waters scoring directly from a corner after Nicholson was unable to get a hold of the ball.

From then on, both sides enjoyed their fair share of possession and whoever got the third goal was surely going to win the game at this point. Luck this time was on Bradford’s side as it was they who got the all important third goal, and this time it was captain Oli Johnson nodding home after a long throw in from Lewis Knight.

Chester put a lot of pressure on the Avenue defence as the game reached it’s latter stages, but the Bradford defence held firm with a man-of-the-match performance from centre back Mitch Lund.

The result now leaves the Avenue 13 points from safety, but with plenty of confidence going into a mid week clash against Kings Lynn and a huge game next weekend against fellow relegation rivals Curzon Ashton.

7 Mar 2020

MATCH PREVIEW: Bradford (Park Avenue) vs Chester

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After a three week lay off due to postponed fixtures, Bradford (Park Avenue) finally return to the pitch this weekend as they welcome Chester to the Horsfall Stadium.

It’s been a long time since the Avenue last had a game, with this weekend marking a month since their last fixture which was an agonising 2-1 home defeat to fellow relegation candidates Gloucester City in a loss which really derailed most hope that the Avenue might’ve had for escaping relegation from the National League North this season.

It’s been an up and down couple of weeks for Bradford’s opponents. After grabbing a huge victory against Kings Lynn, who are runaway favourites to win the league, Chester then followed that up with a 3-2 home loss to fellow promotion rivals Brackley Town in their last outing. They currently sit in 4th place in the table so will be looking to further secure their spot in the playoffs this weekend.

Last time the Avenue and Chester met, it was just three months ago when Bradford came very close to leaving the Northwest with atleast a point. Avenue took a 1-0 lead into half time through Billy Priestley’s goal, but Chester were able to turn the game on it’s head early on in the second half on the way to winning the game 2-1.

After such a long lay off though, Mark Bower is expecting to have a fully fit team at his disposal and will be hoping that the extra rest will have his squad extra fuelled up for a run in that will need plenty of victories if Avenue are to have any chance of surviving the drop.

29 Feb 2020

MATCH PREVIEW: Leamington vs Bradford (Park Avenue)

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After a long two weeks without a game, Bradford (Park Avenue) return to the pitch on Saturday afternoon as they travel to Warwickshire to take on Leamington in the National League North, weather pending.

Avenue will be desperate to get back underway, hoping to right the wrong of the agonising 2-1 defeat at home to Gloucester City last time out. The defeat left Avenue 15 points from safety with just 12 games left to salvage their season.

It promises to be a tough task for the Avenue to overcome, but it is the price they have paid for the terrible start they had to the season, and for the costly mistakes that they have committed over the last few months of the season. Following the defeat to Gloucester, it meant that Bradford’s winless run in the league was extended to 10 games — a number Mark Bower and his players will be desperately hoping to put to an end on Saturday.

One player not apart of that, however, will be Liam Hughes, who left the club last week for Frickley Athletic. Hughes had been playing at centre half for the Green Army for most of the season, and now leaves a hole that Bower will be hopeful to replace.

Leamington were able to end their own poor run of form last time out, recording a big 1-0 victory at home against Southport and they will be hoping to start a winning streak of their own. They currently sit in 16th place in the National League North, but their victory against Southport will certainly have helped relieve some of the pressure that had been put on them after going 7 games without a win.

Bradford, though, are a team in dire need of a victory and will need to pick up all three points if they want to give themselves any hope of a great escape this season.

15 Feb 2020

MATCH PREVIEW: Kings Lynn vs Bradford (Park Avenue)

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Bradford (Park Avenue) face a mountain of a task as they travel to Kings Lynn on Saturday afternoon to take on the runaway leaders in the National League North.

Despite only being a point above second place, Kings Lynn have three games in hand over their nearest rival and are looking like a certainty to be promoted to the National League.

Meanwhile, Bradford Park Avenue sit on the other end of the spectrum. After a heartbreaking 2-1 loss at home to Gloucester City last week, Avenue’s future in the division looks more and more bleak as they now sit 15 points back from Gloucester, who occupy the final spot of safety, and they will need to pull off what would be one of the biggest upsets of the season this weekend if they are to have any hope of avoiding the drop this season.

If past results are to go by though, then it shows that anything can happen in this league and that Bradford should remain confident as just last week the high flying table toppers were stunned 2-0 at home by Kidderminster, ending a run of 14 unbeaten league games.

If Avenue are to get anything from this game then they would be ending their own rot. It has now been 10 league games without a win for the Green Army, with only two points being picked up from a possible 30 in the process.

Despite the way the season has gone for both sides, Bradford manager Mark Bower remains confident that his side can grab a result at the Walks Stadium stating that while he knows that not many people will expect it, “we know we’re capable of getting a result (at Kings Lynn) if we do our jobs properly.”