Avenue travelled to nineteenth-placed Southport with high hopes of a good result but, with half a dozen players in the home side recently back from injury, it was a much tougher task than was expected.

With a strong wind blowing down the pitch, Avenue had it in their faces in a first half which Southport dominated after going ahead in the fifth minute. A perfect strike into the top corner from 22 yards gave George Sykes-Kenworthy at full stretch no chance at all in goal.

Finding it hard to relieve the pressure and with numerous chances falling to the home side, the score was nevertheless kept at 1 – 0 until two further goals just before half-time appeared to end the game as a contest, the second of these being a penalty.

However, a well-directed header by Harrison Hopper then gave Brad Dockerty the opportunity to take the ball past the last defender and calmly slot home in time added on to make the score 3 – 1 and give Avenue a lifeline.

Southport continued to create chances in the second half, though Avenue came more into the picture without really being able to trouble the keeper. They kept up their efforts to the end but were found stretched when a close-range header in added time completed the scoring.

While unable to have any complaints at the final outcome, one was left to wonder how the game might have gone had Southport not won the toss and Avenue had been able to have the wind at their backs in the first half.

Manager Mark Bower had this to say after the game: ‘Today we never put enough passes together to relieve pressure on ourselves. We’ve lost the chance to get anything from the game in that five minutes before half-time. That was self-inflicted.’ And, regarding the game as a whole: ‘We just didn’t play with enough quality.’

His counterpart at Southport, Liam Watson, looked at the more positive side of Avenue’s performance: ‘To be honest, you’ve got to give Bradford credit because they actually dug in and stayed in the game. You can see that they’re playing for the manager and they’re working their socks off and they could have actually crumbled, but they didn’t, so fair play to them.

‘In the second half you’re thinking you don’t want these to get a second one and (then) you’re wobbling. They were game, they worked. I don’t think they’ll finish bottom of the League, I definitely don’t. They dug in, they had a go. It was a good game, probably a really good game for the neutral.’

Team: Sykes-Kenworthy; Odunston, Staunton; Spencer, Havern, Lund (Smith 71); Longbottom (Blyth 56), Richman (Fielding 70), Dockerty, Church, Hopper. Unused subs: Hall, Johnson.

Avenue yellow cards: Spencer (38), Odunston (42).

Att. 802

Avenue’s loss by a two-goal margin at fourth-placed Fylde on Saturday unfortunately does nothing to reflect the hard work and endeavour put into the game by players anxious to turn their fortunes around and claim an overdue first win of the season.

Keeping the home side at a safe distance for most of the first half, Avenue managed to have a few moments of their own. After a free-flowing move early on, Will Longbottom played in Jamie Spencer who hit a strong, rising shot from 16 yards only fractionally outside the angle of post and crossbar. There was also a penetrating run by Lucas Odunston taking him into a scoring position directly in front of goal before being brought down in a heap on the edge of the box.

Fylde then made their first clear opportunity count after 25 minutes with a forceful 15-yard shot looping into the top corner of the net, but Avenue continued to show their resolve. Simon Richman had a tricky angled shot turned away for a corner before an equaliser came just two minutes before the break to give a whole new complexion to the game. Will Longbottom put a precision corner kick into the goalmouth which Oli Johnson flicked on and captain Luca Havern was there to stab in at the far post.

Facing a tough task still against a full-time team on a six-match unbeaten run, Avenue were looking comfortable enough as the second half progressed. However, Fylde then re-took the lead from a debatable corner in the 63rd minute when a firm header from ten yards out was planted into the bottom corner of the net and Avenue were suddenly up against it.

Despite their efforts, opportunities to get back in the game did not really come their way and, with just two minutes left on the clock and Avenue desperately looking for an opening that might give them some reward, Fylde took advantage on the counter by scoring a third goal to seal their victory.

It’s perhaps worth noting that the fixture planners have unwittingly not helped Avenue in these opening nine matches of the season. Giving them seven fixtures against teams currently in the top eight, this has sadly been reflected in the League table despite a number of close games.

While understandably disappointed with the defeat, manager Mark Bower said the following the game: ‘After last week, we asked for a reaction from the players’, and on this performance he was justifiably able to add: ‘Today I thought we looked confident. We looked good on the ball’.

Team: Sykes-Kenworthy; Odunston, Staunton; Spencer (Fielding 63), Havern, Lund; Hopper, Richman, Dockerty (Church 77), Johnson (Blyth 70), Longbottom. Unused subs: Smith, Nowakowski.

Avenue yellow card: Hopper (88).

Avenue travelled to Ashington in the second qualifying round of the FA Cup and, despite their recent excellent League record in this part of the country, came away at the wrong end of a 2 – 1 score line.

No team ever relishes a Cup-tie in the north-east and Avenue came a cropper against Northern League opposition, a fate becoming many teams over the years.

The home side took an early fifth-minute lead with the unlucky Reece Staunton being credited with an own goal, before they went further in front following a corner after 74 minutes giving Avenue what felt like a mountain to climb.

Will Longbottom then entered the fray as a substitute and managed to pull a goal back seven minutes later. This raised hopes of a comeback and, when Harrison Hopper made a short pass inside, the unmarked Eddie Church stretched to put the ball into an open goal from close range. The linesman made an immediate offside call, yet both Avenue players involved in the move appeared to be onside and no one else was interfering with play.

Avenue were not at their best in this match, but could reasonably have felt they should have been heading home looking forward to a replay.

Manager Mark Bower sent on academy prospect George Eze for his senior debut in the final few minutes, a moment George will remember for a long time and a move which will have been noted by all the other players at the academy, giving them real hope that they may be able to follow in his footsteps.

Disappointing as it may be, Avenue were not alone as Vanarama North sides Brackley, Leamington, Spennymoor and Telford all suffered defeat to lower-ranked opposition.

And, they mustn’t let this setback affect their optimism for Fylde on Saturday. Influential captain Luca Havern is hoping to be back after injury and fortune favours the brave, as the saying goes.

Mark Bower was honest about Avenue’s form after the game in saying: ‘The lads are better than what they’re producing at the minute. Clearly, we need to change something because we’re not getting the results we should be.’

Ashington have now got through four rounds of the FA Cup, which includes beating Northern Premier League high-flyers Ashton United less than two weeks earlier, and were naturally cock-a-hoop after the game. Manager Ian Skinner said: ‘I’m hoping for another home tie in the next round because nobody will want to come here – we’ll be the team that others will be saying, ‘I don’t fancy going up there!’

Team: Sykes-Kenworthy; Odunston (Eze 87), Staunton; Spencer (Longbottom (75), Lund, Fielding; Hopper, Richman, Blyth, Dockerty, Smith (Church 65). Unused subs: Hall, Johnson.

Avenue yellow card: Odunston (60).

Att. 711