30 Jan 2020

MATCH PREVIEW: Southport vs Bradford (Park Avenue)

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It’s a trip to Merseyside this weekend for Bradford (Park Avenue) to play Southport.

The Avenue are hoping to end a miserable run of form and kick start what would be an unlikely road to survival. Time, though, is running out for Mark Bower’s side and with each loss that mounts up, relegation is looking more and more inevitable making three points this Saturday a necessity.

Avenue are coming off a 2-0 defeat at Altrincham in which they were completely outplayed in the first half. A much improved second half wasn’t enough unfortunately, and the loss now leaves them 13 points off survival with 14 games to play.

The hosts ended their own terrible run of form last weekend, beating Gloucester City on the road 1-0. Before the game, Southport had been on a run of six straight defeats but the victory on Saturday will undoubtedly have increased their confidence heading into the game this weekend.

Southport currently sit in 11th place in the league table, a far cry from where they were just over a month ago. They do, though, sit only two points out of the playoff places but will be kicking themselves at finding themselves in that position.

For Avenue, it’s been a consistent season — just not in a good way. Although performances have seemed to improve over the last couple of months, especially since Mark Bower re-took charge of the team, results are just not going their way and a complete turnaround in form is needed if they are going to have any chance to escape relegation this season.

This represents a game with two sides that are desperate and eager for three points. One to try avoid relegation, and one to try kick start another push for the playoffs.

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26 Jan 2020

MATCH REPORT: Altrincham 2-0 Bradford (Park Avenue)

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It became seven defeats in eight for an Avenue side falling increasingly into relegation as playoff chasing Altrincham deservedly ran out 2-0 winners at Moss Lane.

Avenue hoped to lean on the reverse fixture between the two sides — a 2-0 victory at Horsfall Stadium — but Altrincham came out a completely different outfit compared to the side that the Avenue saw just six weeks ago.

But it was a case of the same old for Avenue, as once again, they conceded in the first minute of the game. That makes it three times in their last five that they have conceded in the first five minutes with manager Mark Bower admitting that the slow starts are unacceptable as it leaves them “chasing the game”.

Avenue never really gained focus from the first whistle, and 45 seconds in, after some brilliant work down the right hand side of the Avenue area from Jordan Hulme, he managed to whip in a pitch perfect cross to Josh Hancock, who kept his composure to slot the ball home and inflict another disastrous start on the visitors.

It took a long time for Bradford to wake up and get any kind of foothold in the game as Altrincham dominated possession. Nicky Clee had a shot that went just over, before another brilliant chance fell his way.

Ryan Hall played a wonderful diagonal ball to new signing Stelios Demetriou, Demetriou then sent in a ball which looked begging to be slotted home, it landed to Clee at the back post but unfortunately he couldn’t get it under control and the ball hit his hand leading to an Altrincham free kick.

The first half then got even worse for Bower’s side as Altrincham went two ahead, this time through Jordan Jones heading home from another Jordan Hulme assist.

Coming out of half time, Avenue’s performance steadily improved but they didn’t do too much to test the Altrincham goalkeeper. Tom Clare came on for Ryan Hall on 55 minutes and did cause some problems for the Altrincham defence. The best chance of the half came when Ryan Hurst raced into the box from the left and had his shot well saved by Thompson, the rebound then fell high to Clare but he couldn’t quite get enough on the ball to force it in.

Altrincham looked happy to sit on the ball and not do too much more as time ran out, while Avenue struggled to do much with the ball when they did have it.

This result leaves Avenue falling further and further to the bottom of the table with relegation looking more likely as the weeks pass by while Altrincham continue their march towards the playoffs.

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25 Jan 2020

Avenue Sign Cypriot International Full Back Stelios Demetriou

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Full Back Demetriou joins on a duel registration deal from Haringey Borough.

Demetriou started his playing career in Cyprus before signing for Scottish Championship side St Mirren in January 2017. After impressing in his short time at the club, he signed a new one-year deal in June 2017. Demetriou helped St Mirren win the 2017–18 Scottish Championship, but was released at the end of his contract. In June 2018 Demetriou signed for Scottish Championship side Ross County. He then moved to Macclesfield Town in January 2019 before joining current club Haringey Borough.

Demetriou has represented Cyprus Under 21’s on a number of occasions and made his senior debut in May 2018.

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23 Jan 2020

Hurst To Remain At The Avenue

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The club are delighted to announce that the loan agreement with Port Vale for winger Alex Hurst has been extended until the end of the season.

Hurst signed for the Avenue in October 2018 and quickly became a fan favourite. Following some strong performances on the pitch he caught the attention of Port Vale who invited him to train with them in the 2019/20 pre-season. Hurst did enough to impress and the Valiant’s made the club an offer we couldn’t refuse to secure his services, however as part of the agreement Hurst would be loaned back to the Avenue until at least January.

The club can also confirm that Lewis Rathbone has left the club and Isaac Marriot has returned to parent club Huddersfield Town both by mutual consent.

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23 Jan 2020

MATCH PREVIEW: Altrincham vs Bradford (Park Avenue)

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Bradford (Park Avenue) return to the road this weekend as they travel to Greater Manchester to take on Altrincham at Moss Lane.

After a very tough season, Avenue find themselves bottom of the table with only three wins on the season. However, one of those wins was against Altrincham just over a month ago in which Bradford ran out 2-0 winners over the Robins in what was an excellent performance. Goals from Tom Clare on his debut and Oli Johnson late on secured the three points for the Green Army and they will be hoping for a repeat of that this weekend.

Altrincham, meanwhile, are on a good run of form. Despite losing their last game away at Gateshead, their previous loss before that was against Avenue back on the 7th of December. Following that, they went on a seven game unbeaten league run, winning six. They sit tenth in the league table, albeit with a number of games in hand on the teams above, so their fate is in their own hands as we reach the last couple of months of the season.

For Avenue, it was another case of what-if last weekend against Brackley. In an evenly contested game at the Horsfall Stadium, it was unfortunately the away side who showed their quality when it mattered most, edging out a 2-1 win and sending Avenue further to the bottom of the table.

Manager Mark Bower has admitted that escaping relegation this season will be tough, and that it is irrelevant to focus on what other teams are doing, stating that “we’re just focusing on each match one-by-one”.

Focus will be paramount this weekend against one of the league’s inform sides, and three points are necessary if Avenue are to have any hopes of avoiding the drop this season.

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18 Jan 2020

Match Report: Bradford (Park Avenue) 1-2 Brackley Town

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Brackley continued their promotion push with a 2-1 victory away at Bradford (Park Avenue) in a game which confines Avenue further to the bottom of the table. 

It wasn’t the best of games to watch. It was a cagey opening with Avenue dominating most of the possession in the first half. Chances were at a premium, though, with neither side being able to muster up anything too concrete. 

The best chances of the half fell to Hall and Armson, but neither were able to put their side into the ascendency.  

After a period of Avenue domination at the start, Brackley soon found themselves getting more and more into the game and they were rewarded by taking the lead just before half time. It was a sloppy goal to concede from an Avenue point of view but Ndlovu wouldn’t have cared, back heeling the ball into the net for his 11th goal in 9 games. 

The second half was much like the first, very cagey with not much to split the two teams. Brackley, though, managed to kill the game with a 2nd goal through Armson. Tom Clare managed to grab a consolation for Avenue late on, but it was too little too late for the hosts as Brackley managed to extend their unbeaten league run to 11 games. 

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16 Jan 2020

MATCH PREVIEW: Bradford (Park Avenue) vs Brackley Town

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After coming away with a point at Hereford, Avenue manager Mark Bower was left stunned at the fact that his side weren’t able to leave the Midlands with all three points, largely down to a brilliant goalkeeping performance from Will Henry and Bower will be hoping for better luck for his team this time around. 

However, the fixture this weekend may bring back a few memories that Avenue fans want to forget as Bradford welcome 4th placed Brackley Town to the Horsfall Stadium, the same team that they were thumped by 8-0 in September.  

Fortunes haven’t changed much for either side as on one side of the table, Brackley are trying to continue their incredible run of form – undefeated in their previous 10 league games – to try and push on for automatic promotion, or at the very least, secure themselves a playoff spot. Bradford, on the other hand, are struggling for points and after a run of form which saw them lose five straight league games, find themselves deeply rooted to the bottom of the table and are desperate to claw themselves out. 

It’s fair to argue that Bradford should be in a much better position that they do find themselves in right now, though. Since the return of Mark Bower as manager, performances for the Avenue have steadily improved, and they will feel hard done by to have only returned with just one point in their previous three games, games in which Avenue were, for most part, the better side. 

Brackley enter the game as the league’s inform team. They are undefeated in their previous 10 league games, winning 6 and drawing 4, and will be eager to continue positively in their quest for promotion to the National League.  

It all makes for what should be an intriguing team as one side, Bradford will be hungry for revenge to try drown away the early season memory and help their cause for safety, while Brackley will be looking to inflict more woe on an Avenue side, who at this point, have no room to slip. 

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12 Jan 2020

Match Report: Hereford 1 – 1 Bradford

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Avenue returned from Edgar Street with a single bitter-sweet point yesterday following a superb performance that was only thwarted by some superb goal keeping.

The game didn’t start out as well as it was set to go on however, as Pope’s deflected shot from outside the box trickled in beyond the reach of a stranded Joe Green, Hereford taking the lead inside of 5 minutes.

Not long after Johnson had a chance to level the scores as he was played through by Adam Nowakowski, but it wasn’t to be as his resulting shot went wide.

Green was then called into action to save an Alex Bray effort after the Bradford defence failed to close the midfielder down.

Hereford’s early lead was quickly put to an end on 19 minutes. It was Avenue captain Nicky Clee who stepped up and scored his second goal in as many games, reading a loose ball in the box to smash in a half volley.

Having gotten a taste for goal, Clee received the ball inside his own half and, spotting the Hereford stopper off his line, took a shot from 50 yards that only missed by a fine margin.

Half Time: Hereford 1 – 1 Bradford

Having dominated possession and play in the first half, Avenue came out to find Hereford’s resolve had strengthened. Assisted by a strong wind the Bulls would have the better of chances in the early part of the second half.

Sodiende used his superior pace to break through the Bradford back line, going one on one with an on rushing Green, but his chipped shot was too high. Just clearing the bar to the shock of the Hereford supporters who had already cheered in unfounded celebration.

The Hereford number 10 had his best chance to find the net as the Bulls won a penalty following a miss kicked clearance from Lund. Sodiende latched onto the loose ball and drove forward into the box to be brought down by a last ditch tackle from Priestley, who received a yellow for his efforts.

Again, the Hereford supporters were ready to cheer, but it turned to groans as Sodiende’s effort hit the bar, and despite coming back across the face of the goal, it went out for a goal kick much to the relief of the travelling green army.

A 70th minute substitution saw Lewis Knight inject some much needed pace to the Avenue side, and he quickly had an impact, setting up Oli Johnson with a low cross, but Will Henry saved the shot before turning away a curled effort from Lund.

Bradford continued to apply pressure as Knight received the ball in his own half, racing past a stranded Hereford defence to produce an unbelievable save from man of the match, Henry.

Full Time: Hereford 1 – 1 Bradford

Attendance: 1586

Teams:

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9 Jan 2020

MATCH PREVIEW: Hereford vs Bradford (Park Avenue)

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The Avenue make the long trip to Herefordshire this Saturday as they look to pick up a vital three points away at Hereford.

Avenue, currently residing at the bottom of the table, need to start picking up wins very quickly and very consistently if they are to have any hope of avoiding the drop from the National League North this season. It has been a frustrating few weeks for Bradford, who have been able to put together a string of impressive performances, especially in their last two games against York City and Boston United, but unfortunately have come away with nothing to show for it.

Hereford, meanwhile, enter the game on just as bad a run of form, if not worse, with just one win in their last 13 league games, which came against Kidderminster two weeks ago. The home side currently sit in 16th place in the league table after having a decent start to the season, but they have spent the last couple of months slipping and sliding down the table.

In the reverse fixture, which took place at the Horsfall Stadium in October, the Avenue ran out 3-2 victors which should give Bradford plenty of confidence heading into the game this weekend, with goals from Adam Nowakowski, Lewis Knight, and Dan Sweeney sealing the three points for the Avenue in which was a very entertaining and back-and-forth affair.

With the Avenue desperate to pick up points to avoid the drop, being 12 points behind 20th placed Curzon Ashton at the moment, and Hereford determined to put a halt to their slide down the table, it makes for a very interesting game between two sides who don’t just want, but need three points.

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8 Jan 2020

Duo Return To Parent Clubs

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Full back Reece Staunton whose short term work experience loan should have run until the 12th January has been recalled early by Bradford City.

Isiah Bazeley has also returned to his parent club Aston Villa following agreement from both clubs to terminate his loan deal early.

The club would like to thank both players for their efforts during their time with the club and wish them both all the best for the future.

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