9 Nov 2019

Match Report: Avenue 2-3 King’s Lynn

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King’s Lynn twice came from behind at the Horsfall Stadium to leave Avenue bottom of the league and winless in five matches.

An Adam Marriott brace followed by Sonny Carey’s 87th minute winner in a frantic second half saw King’s Lynn run out winners, despite Lewis Knight and Oli Johnson twice having Bradford in front.

The game was pushed back to an eventual 3.45pm kick-off time, following visitors King’s Lynn becoming stuck in traffic on their mammoth journey to Bradford.

And it was the away side who had the first sight at goal, Ryan Jarvis slipping as the ball dropped from the game’s first corner, before Jordan Richards fired wide from the edge of the box.

Bradford then went straight up the other end and created their first chance, Dan Sweeney’s low cross just couldn’t find Knight, before Mitch Lund saw his effort blocked away.

On 17 minutes though, Avenue went ahead as Knight took advantage of a mistake.

Rory McAuley gave the ball away on the half-way line, Avenue’s number seven intercepting his pass before racing past him and slotting confidently into the bottom corner with his left foot.

At the other end, Liam Hughes – playing in the centre of a back three – saw his blushes spared as he headed just wide of his own goal, attempting to cut out Marriott’s header across goal.

Joe Green was then called into action as Avenue were caught out by a short corner, Chris Henderson shooting low from the left, the home goalkeeper smuggling his effort away with a decent save.

Bradford were pressing well and forcing their opposition into mistakes, Sweeney finding himself with time and space on the edge of the box, though he could only strike wide with his left foot.

As the board went up to display one minute’s added time at the end of the first half, the visitors came close once more, as Marriott flashed a header just wide of the post with Green stranded.

Green did have a save to make just after the break, Michael Gash finding time and space at the back post, but his low effort was well kept out by the Bradford number one.

It was the dangerous Marriott who commenced the comeback just before the hour, as Avenue got caught out from a cross, Green failing to punch clear and the number 10 just about managing to force the ball home.

Knight then caused danger as his cross dropped over the head of the defender, before he was forced off, and it was his replacement Johnson who put Bradford back in front.

McAuley again was the cause of his side’s downfall, a short backpass allowing Johnson in, the returning attacker rounding the goalkeeper before slotting in his first goal since rejoining the club last week.

Avenue were almost caught out in incredible circumstances from the restart, with Mitch Lund receiving treatment, Mark Bower was orchestrating a reshuffle.

But as Lund hobbled off, the referee allowed the visitors to restart, allowing them to race clear on the far side, but the furious Bradford players just about got back to avert the danger.

Just over 10 minutes later, King’s Lynn equalised again through Marriott, the striker doing brilliantly in possession, spreading play wide to Sam Kelly who delivered an excellent cross which the forward planted into the top corner with a perfect header.

And with little over three minutes on the clock, the visitors snatched all three points.

Bradford failed to properly clear a corner, and with a number of players trying to get a foot on the ball, Carey emerged into a pocket of space and placed a finish low into the bottom corner.

There was time for one last Avenue chance, Sweeney picking up a loose ball and seeing goalkeeper Alex Street off his line, but his effort from 25 yards out slipped just past the post.

King’s Lynn did end the game on a sour note, however, as striker Michael Gash was sent off in injury time. After being shown a yellow card for timewasting in the fourth minute of stoppage time, he was then sent off in the sixth for leaving a high foot in in the corner.

With a number of injuries, Avenue will be thankful to not have a midweek game, and next up is the visit of Leamington on Saturday 9 November.

Bradford (Park Avenue): Green, Lund (A.Johnson 74), Priestley, Lowe (c), Hughes, Bazeley, Knight (O.Johnson 69), Royle, Sweeney, Marriott, Nowakowski

Subs not used: Dickinson, Rathbone

Goals: Knight (17), O.Johnson (71)

King’s Lynn Town: Street, Jones, Fox (Hawkins 81), Jarvis (Carey 58), Ward, McAuley, Clunan (c), Richards, Gash, Marriott, Henderson (Kelly 58)

Subs not used: Barrows, Payne

Goals: Marriott (58, 83), Carey (87)

Booked: Ward (61), McAuley (67), Gash (90+4)

Sent Off: Gash (90+6)

Referee: Dean Watson

Attendance: 416

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8 Nov 2019

Vanarama National League North – October Manager & Player Of The Month

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MANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH – MANAGER OF THE MONTH

Alun Armstrong (Darlington)

Some may have wondered why Alun Armstrong left Blyth after three fantastic years this summer.
He had hero status, and a team seemingly on the up. It soon became clear why Darlington moved heaven and earth to ge their man.
The Quakers boss didn’t make the immediate impact he wanted to with four defeats in August but good things come to those who wait.
A flawless October saw Darlo record four wins from four. Now ambitions have changed.
Kidderminster Harriers and Boston United were put to the sword in the National League North, and their FA Cup campaign is growing legs.
A win at tricky Tamworth, having already done the business at Leamington, set up this weekend’s visit to struggling Walsall. Many think an upset could occur.
Armstrong made his name as a player in the North East and he is certainly getting management tongues wagging in the area too.

MANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH – PLAYER OF THE MONTH

David Morgan (Southport)

A week is a long time in football, people usually say. But for Southport fans, the past year might have felt like a lifetime.
At this point last season, the Port were all at sea. Rock bottom of the National League North table with just one win, and eight points from their opening 14 games – five points adrift of safety.
Nowadays it’s a different story entirely. Fourth in the table and having won all but one of their games through October, it couldn’t be going any better.
Captain fantastic David Morgan has been at the forefront of the action for the highfliers – starting the month with a goal in their FA Cup win over Farsley Celtic.
Scoring the winner against Brackley Town was the icing on the cake before wins over Hereford and Bradford (Park Avenue) rounded off an incredible month for Liam Watson’s troops.
The ruthless skipper looks determined to take the game to anyone who stands in his team’s way.

MANARAMA NATIONAL LEAGUE NORTH – VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

Don Holmes (Farsley Celtic)

Don Holmes has won Volunteer of the Month for Farsley Celtic in the National League North.
Don has been associated with the Club for 30 years, currently occupying the role of Vice-President.
He visits The Citadel every day of the week to help clean and maintain the facilities of the stadium.
As well as carrying out day-to-day tasks he is often seen repairing and improving all aspects of the site to improve the matchday experience for all attendees.
The Club believes Don’s efforts are invaluable and he is someone whose commitment they could simply not replace.

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8 Nov 2019

Match Preview: King’s Lynn (H)

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Bradford (Park Avenue) are back in league action at the Horsfall Stadium this Saturday as they host high-flyers King’s Lynn Town.

Avenue ended their three-match goal drought at Harrogate in the County Cup on Monday, and will now be hoping they can turn that into a victory as they return to league action at the weekend.

Aston Villa loanee Isiah Bazeley found the net as Bradford were defeated by two goals to one against their higher-level opponents, and manager Mark Bower has delved into the loan market once more this week to strengthen his midfield.

Telford midfielder Jonathan Royle has arrived on a temporary deal, initially until the 1st of January, looking to change the fortunes of a side who are now on a four-match losing streak.

And for the second weekend in a row, they face opposition recently promoted to the National League North, though King’s Lynn have fared much better than last Saturday’s victors Kettering.

They currently find themselves second in the division, behind only the as-yet unbeaten York, and yet to taste defeat at home this term.

The Linnetts have however drawn their last three league matches at home 2-2, but after a winless run dating back to the 3rd of September, they ran out 4-2 winners at Kidderminster Harriers last Saturday.

Avenue will assess injuries to both Germaine Agustien, who hobbled out of the warm up at Kettering, and Josh Heaton, who was replaced in the second half.

Recent League Form

Bradford (Park Avenue)
Kettering Town (A) L 0-4
Southport (H) L 0-3
Gloucester City (A) L 0-1
Hereford (H) W 3-2
Brackley Town (A) L 0-8

King’s Lynn Town
Kidderminster Harriers (A) W 4-2
Altrincham (H) D 2-2
Chester (H) D 2-2
York City (A) L 0-3
Gloucester City (H) D 2-2

Last Time Out

Bradford (Park Avenue) (vs Kettering): Green, Lund, Priestley, Lowe (c), Hughes (Bazeley 46), Heaton (O.Johnson 60), Knight, Keane (Dockerty 46), Sweeney, Hurst, Nowakowski

King’s Lynn Town (vs): Street, Jones, Fox, Jarvis, Barrows, McAuley, Clunan, Richards, Gash, Marriott (Kelly), Henderson (Carey)

Admission Prices

Adult – £10
Concession (OAP, Student) – £8
Under-17 – £1

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8 Nov 2019

The MANarama Big Interview: Bradford go back to the future with Bower – and he can’t wait!

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League sponsors MANarama caught up with the Bradford (Park Avenue) manager ahead of Saturday’s big game with King’s Lynn.

Bradford (Park Avenue) fans could be forgiven for thinking they have stepped back in time this season. Some events seem all too familiar. Mark Bower taking to the Horsfall hotseat with the whole league writing off their chances of success is almost a carbon copy of where they club was three years ago.

The rest, as they say, was history. Safety first and then back-to-back play-off campaigns had the fans believing again.

But after a catastrophic start to this season, the club went back to the future to reignite an old flame with the popular Bradford-born boss.

“You never say never in football,” he said. “I didn’t want to leave the club when I did but circumstances meant that between us, we had no option to make the decision that we did.

“There have been a number of changes at the club since I left which has made it easier for me to come back. I came in two years ago in a similar position when everyone said we were doomed and going down.

“Slowly but surely, we turned it around and got ourselves safe that season and built some strong foundations to have two very successful seasons following that – that’s what we’ve got to try and do again.”

Things couldn’t have been much worse when Bower stepped back through to door – an FA Cup defeat to Morpeth was swiftly followed by an 8-0 thumping at Brackley.

Garry Thompson was shown the door after two games before Marcus Law had a spell in interim charge. The club were now looking for their third manager of the season.

Many would have run the other way. But Bower is made of different stuff and instead, he’s relishing what is to come.

“Confidence was very low when I came in,” Bower explains. “We had just been knocked out of the FA Cup by a lower league team and then been beaten 8-0 so the dressing room was very low.

“But in the couple of weeks since, started well against Hereford and then we’ve been unfortunate in the other two games that followed, and we’ve shown a better side to our play. But there’s still plenty to work on.

“We’re not just down there, we’ve had some heavy defeats and look well short of the mark at times. If we can stay up this season, it will give us a bit of a clean slate to start again and build again from next summer.

“We’re in the same boat as a number of teams down there already but I’m more than confident with the players we’ve got in the dressing room that we can hold our own and get competitive.”

On history alone, many might see the 39-year-old as their knight in shining armour, on his way to save their season.

But the past means nothing for Bower, who also brought Danny Boshell back to the club with him. His message is simple. Judge me when I’m done.

“Winning that first game was probably the worst thing that could have happened because people might have relaxed. But there’s a lot of work to do and we need all the help we can get.

“I want to do my best for the club for as long as that lasts for. If you do the job well then, you’re more likely to stay around so obviously that’s what I’m trying to do.

“We’ve had a really good reaction to us coming back but I’m more interested to what people will think when we’ve finished the job. Hopefully people will think well of us when it comes to an end.”

ONE SIMPLE TEXT CAN BOOST THE MANARAMA CAMPAIGN!

Getting involved with the MANarama campaign as we try to combat Prostate Cancer could not be more straight forward.

Give… donate to Prostate Cancer via text
Go… then bring others into play by sharing on social media with #GiveAndGo.

Donate by texting “MAN £10”, “MAN £5” or “MAN £3” (depending on the amount you want to donate) to 70004 & help stop prostate cancer from being a killer. Texts costs £10, £5 or £3 plus network charge. Prostate Cancer UK receives 100% of your donation. Obtain bill payers permission. Customer care 0800 082 1616. Charity No 100554

FREE MINIBUS FOR YOUR CLUB

To say thank you to the incredible fans and clubs of The National League for supporting our MANarama campaign in aid of Prostate Cancer UK, we’re giving a FREE minibus away to one club.
When your club hits £500 they go into the hat!
Find your club’s page here: https://justgiving.com/fundraising/bradford-park-avenue

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5 Nov 2019

Royle Joins On Loan

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Bradford (Park Avenue) have signed midfielder Jonathan Royle on loan from AFC Telford United.

Royle joins on an initial deal until 1st January, strengthening manager Mark Bower’s options in midfield.

Bower had hinted at a potential new signing after watching his side slip to their third defeat in a row at Kettering on Saturday, falling to the bottom of the league in the process.

Former Southport midfielder Royle initially joined Telford on a loan deal back in September 2016 which was soon made permanent after a string of fine performances.

Since joining, he has made 75 appearances in the National League North for Telford, but has been limited to just two starts and two substitute appearances this term.

Royle got his first taste of senior football as a teenager, spending two seasons at Colwyn Bay before their relegation from the then-named Conference North.

He has also notched a handful of National League appearances for Wrexham and Southport, while also lining up in a brief loan spell at Hednesford Town.

Royle will go straight into the Avenue squad ahead of their home clash with Kings Lynn Town this Saturday.

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5 Nov 2019

MATCH REPORT | Harrogate Town 2 – 1 Bradford (Park Avenue)

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Avenue drop out of the West Riding County Cup despite taking an early lead against the home side.

The break in league action meant that Avenue boss, Bower could take a look at fringe players, as well as naming three Academy scholars in the line up. Meanwhile, Harrogate named eight senior players in their line-up.

Avenue started well forcing a good save from Harrogate’s stopper, Cracknell in the seventh minute.

Jack Emmet nearly opened the scoring for the home side in the 13th minute, hitting the post with a good curled effort inside the box.

Avenue opened the scoring on the 16th minute with an excellent run from Villa loanee, Isiah Bazeley who burst past his marker, into the box and slotted the ball low to the right to put Avenue one up.

The lead didn’t last however as Town responded by scoring only a minute after the restart. Jon Stead received the ball on the right side of the box and he fired a strike across the goal, out of the reach of the Joe Green.

Both sides continued to seek out the lead throughout the half and it was Bradford that looked strongest towards the break with Harrogate players blocking a number of shots to keep the teams level at the break.

HALF TIME: Harrogate 1 – 1 Bradford.

The attacking form continued into the second half with both sides looking to get onto the front foot. A number of great tackles by the Harrogate back line prevented Avenue form breaking free on a few occasions and Bradford should have taken the lead in the 68th minute, when Lewis Knight was unable to find the net to convert from just a few yards out following the low cross from the right.

A handball in the 70th minute saw Avenue fall behind as Stead stepped up to secure his brace from the penalty spot, shooting low to the Green’s right.

Avenue continued to press for the remaining 20 minutes, but were reduced to ten men following a heavy challenge that forced Joe Ockerby to leave the field with an injury after all three substitutes were used.

Harrogate then used their one man advantage to see out the game and progress to the next round.

Teams:

Harrogate: Cracknell, Fergus, Hartley, Clark, Thomson, Emmett, Jones, Taylor, Stead, Kerry (Prata 76), Brown.

Subs not used: Wilton, Chippendale, , Haswell, Wicks.

Goals: Stead x2

Bookings: Kerry

Bradford Park Avenue: Green, Bazeley (Mayfield 76), Ockerby, Marriott, Hughes, Priestley (Lyons 59), Rathbone, Lund, Sweeney (Knight 59), Hurst, Johnson 

Goals: Bazeley

Referee: A Bannister

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4 Nov 2019

Three Academy Players Earn First Team Call Up

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The club is proud to announce that three of the Academy’s scholars have received a call up to the first team ahead of tonight’s West Riding County Cup fixture away at Harrogate Town.

First team manager, Mark Bower will be keen to see how the three have developed during their time in the Academy.

Of the three, Mayfield and Ockerby will be re-joining the first team following their call up last season, with Lyons looking to make his first team debut having trained with the squad after impressing for the Under 19’s side.

Hear how the lads get on this evening by tuning into live match commentary on mixlr.com/bpafc at 7:45pm.

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4 Nov 2019

Match Preview: Harrogate (A)

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Bradford (Park Avenue) take a break from league action this Monday evening, with a trip to Harrogate Town in the West Riding County Cup.

The match is a second round tie, but is both clubs’ first involvement in the competition following byes in the first round.

It is a repeat of the 2016 final, which Avenue won at Valley Parade, lifting their second successive County Cup trophy in the process.

Goals from Lamin Colley, Reece Webb-Foster and Richard Marshall gave Avenue victory then, and three-and-a-half years later the sides meet again in the competition, this time at the CNG Stadium.

Both will be expected to make changes for the fixture, with Harrogate coming into the match after their 10-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to an end at Eastleigh on Saturday.

Avenue have the chance to give some of their fringe players a chance after three defeats on the bounce, with the likes of Jon Moran, Andre Johnson and Isaac Marriott a chance to stake their claim.

Recent League Form

Harrogate Town
Eastleigh (A) L 2-4
Barnet (H) W 2-1
Aldershot Town (H) W 1-0
Yeovil Town (A) W 2-1
Wrexham (A) D 1-1

Bradford (Park Avenue)
Kettering Town (A) L 0-4
Southport (H) L 0-3
Gloucester City (A) L 0-1
Hereford (H) W 3-2
Brackley Town (A) L 0-8

Last Time Out

Harrogate Town (vs Eastleigh): Belshaw, Fallowfield, G Smith (Taylor 75), Falkingham, Burrell, Beck, Kiernan (Thomson 66), Bradley (Emmett 59), Muldoon, W Smith, Diamond

Bradford (Park Avenue) (vs Kettering): Green, Lund, Priestley, Lowe (c), Hughes (Bazeley 46), Heaton (O.Johnson 60), Knight, Keane (Dockerty 46), Sweeney, Hurst, Nowakowski

Admission Prices
Adult – £5
Under-18 – £2

West Riding County Cup Second Round Draw In Full

Harrogate Town vs Bradford (Park Avenue) 4/11/19
Farsley Celtic vs Armthorpe Welfare 5/11/19
FC Halifax Town vs Yorkshire Amateur 6/11/19
Barnoldswick Town vs Steeton 12/11/19
Thackley vs Campion 12/11/19
Pontefract Collieries vs Tadcaster Albion TBC
Guiseley vs Brighouse Town TBC
Ossett United vs Eccleshill United OR Garforth Town TBC

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2 Nov 2019

Match Report: Kettering 4-0 Avenue

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Bradford (Park Avenue) dropped to bottom of the league thanks to a third successive defeat at the hands of Kettering Town.

Kettering leapfrogged Avenue off the bottom with an absolute rout at Latimer Park thanks to goals from London Meikle, Connor Kennedy, Ben Milnes and Aaron O’Connor, though in truth it could have been more on a woeful afternoon for Mark Bower’s men.

The game was in doubt for most of the day, with news of a planned pitch inspection arriving as late as 11am, with the team bus well on its way. Eventually, thanks to some hard work by volunteers and the rain easing up, the match referee passed the surface as playable around 15 minutes after the Avenue coach arrived at Latimer Park.

Bower had named an unchanged starting XI for the fixture, with the returning Oli Johnson taking the place of his namesake Andre amongst the substitutes, though due to an injury in the warm-up, recent signing Cieron Keane was handed a full debut in place of Germaine Agustien.

The hosts were fastest out of the box by far and came close inside 10 minutes as Keith Lowe could only flick a cross in the direction of an unmarked Milnes, who should probably have hit the target with his volley.

Milnes definitely should have done better moments later as again Avenue couldn’t clear and he strode onto a loose ball, but could only fire over from 12 yards out.

Kettering did take the lead with 15 minutes on the clock though, on the end of a brilliant breakaway.

A sweeping move ended with a neat one-two between Daniel Nti and Gary Stohrer, with the former cutting it back to Meikle, who just about forced the ball home with a bit of a scuffed effort.

The home side were causing problems with their pace, and another breakaway almost resulted in a second goal as O’Connor got the better of Lowe, but his cross was just behind the run of Nti and the chance went begging.

It took until the half-hour for the visitors to threaten, almost drawing level through Alex Hurst. The Port Vale loanee burst onto a Billy Priestley knock-down, and his eventual shot took a wicked deflection, Kettering goalkeeper Paul White doing excellently to react and tip the ball round the post.

The half time break seemed to do nothing to reinvigorate Avenue, and Kettering were afforded the simplest of goals just 11 minutes into the half, Kennedy heading home a Milnes corner from inside the six-yard box.

And Milnes added his own goal just after the hour, Lowe pulling down O’Connor just outside the box, with the midfielder stepping up and placing the free-kick into the bottom corner.

Bradford thought they’d pulled one back with 18 minutes to spare, as the returning Johnson flicked home Dan Sweeney’s shot, but the linesman’s flag went up for offside.

Nti, who was possibly lucky to escape a second yellow card for a foul on Knight, came oh so close with a brilliant chest-and-volley, before earning his side a penalty, his opposite number seven clipping him in the box leaving the referee with no option.

O’Connor stepped up and stuttered, sending Joe Green the wrong way to complete the rout.

The Bradford goalkeeper did have time to make a great save, as Tre Milford got in behind, but the offside flag was up regardless.

Meikle should have grabbed a second in the dying minutes, as Mitch Lund’s slip allowed him in on the right, but he curled over after cutting inside.

Kettering Town: White, Stohrer, Skarz (c), Graham, McGrath, Milnes, Nti, O’Connor (Milford 83), Kennedy, Meikle, Kelly

Subs not used: Solkhon, Brighton, Carta, Sebbeh

Goals: Meikle (15), Kennedy (56), Milnes (63), O’Connor (79P)

Booked: Skarz (45), Nti (70)

Bradford (Park Avenue): Green, Lund, Priestley, Lowe (c), Hughes (Bazeley 46), Heaton (O.Johnson 60), Knight, Keane (Dockerty 46), Sweeney, Hurst, Nowakowski

Subs not used: Marriott

Booked: Hurst (18), Hughes (45+3), Lowe (62)

Referee: Daniel Lockyer

Attendance: 625

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2 Nov 2019

Johnson Returns To Avenue

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Entertaining forward Oli Johnson has returned to Bradford (Park Avenue).

Johnson was a popular figure under Mark Bower, playing a key role in the last two seasons as Avenue reached the National League North promotion play-offs.

The former Norwich City, Stockport County and Yeovil Town man first linked up with Bower during his time at Guiseley, where he was a key figure in their promotion to the National League.

He has made 92 league appearances in a Bradford shirt across the last three campaigns, with an impressive return of 32 goals.

Johnson initially joined on loan from Guiseley in November 2016, but hasn’t played since departing in the summer after taking some time out to recover from long-standing injury problems.

The attacker returns to Bower’s squad ahead of this afternoon’s trip to Kettering Town, which goes ahead after a lot of hard work from volunteers following heavy rainfall at Latimer Park.

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