Marcus Law takes his Bradford (Park Avenue) side to Darlington on Bank Holiday Monday in search of their first win of the season.

Avenue travel to Blackwell Meadows after keeping their first clean sheet of the campaign in a goalless draw at home to Blyth on Saturday, with Law now keen to get properly off the mark at the other end.

Lewis Knight’s equaliser at Gateshead remains the only goal Avenue have scored, but the interim manager has recently brought in forwards Joseph Chidyausiku and Myron Gibbons to try and turn Avenue’s attacking fortunes around.

Gibbons was replaced by Chidyausiku in the Blyth match that also saw two others impress on debut, left-back Riccardo Calder and midfielder Marcus Wood.

Wood looked solid in shielding the back four, while Calder impressed going forward on the left, showing pace and delivering a number of inviting crosses.

Darlington, meanwhile, needed a stoppage time equaliser from Adam Campbell to rescue a point away at Altrincham on Saturday.

The Quakers have a symmetrical record so far this season, winning two, drawing two and losing two from their six games so far, though both those defeats came away from home.

Bradford have actually beaten Darlington just once since the Quakers’ promotion two years ago – a 1-0 victory at Blackwell Meadows in the FA Cup last season – with Darlington reversing that scoreline when Avenue travelled for the last league meeting in April, which followed a 2-2 draw at the Horsfall.

Recent League Form

Darlington
Altrincham (A) D 1-1
Southport (H) W 2-0
Curzon (A) L 1-3
Kettering (H) W 3-0
Gateshead (H) D 1-1

Bradford (Park Avenue)
Blyth (H) D 0-0
Alfreton (A) L 0-4
Gateshead (A) D 1-1
Kidderminster (H) L 0-3
Guiseley (H) L 0-5

Last Time Out

Darlington: Elliott, Atkinson (Holness 65), Watson, Bascome (Heaton 84), Laing, Galbraith, Rivers, Hatfield, Campbell, Thompson (Donawa 72), O’Neill

Bradford (Park Avenue): Taylor (c), Lund, Calder, Wood, Moran, Digbeu (Dockerty 79), Hedley, Marriott (Holmes 79), Gibbons (Chidyausiku 60), Hurst, Knight

Admission Prices
Adult – £14
Concession (OAP, Student, Forces) – £10
Under-18 – £5
Under-11 – Free
* £2 to upgrade to seating

Words: Joe Cockburn
Image: John Rhodes

The club would like to welcome Joseph Chidyausiku back to the Horsfall Stadium.

Chidyausiku, an attacking player, spent time last season with Havant & Waterlooville. He first came to the Horsfall in pre-season and featured against Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday, scoring against the latter.

Speaking about the signing, interim manager Marcus Law said:

“Joseph came to us during the summer before going on to train elsewhere. He’s coming in on a non-contract basis and we’re going to take a look at him to see if he fits into our plans for the team. He looks to have some of the attributes we’re seeking so now it’s down to him to earn a place in the squad and go from there.”

Gibbons graduated from Doncaster Rovers academy and signed a first year professional contract with the club earlier this year after impressing enough to be noticed by the then first team boss, Grant McCann.

An attacking player with plenty of pace, Gibbons caught the eye of Marcus Law in a closed door friendly earlier this week.

He joins Bradford in time for today’s game against Blyth Spartans.

Bradford (Park Avenue) are pleased to announce the signing of former Manchester City and Bolton Wanderers development prospect, Marcus Wood, who has also received multiple caps for England U18’s

Speaking at training on Thursday, Wood described himself as a “combative” center mid:

Marcus Law described the new signing;

“Wood is a strong player who’s got good technical skills and packs power. He comes highly recommended by our contacts and knows the league, having played with Southport last season.”

“We’re really pleased to have him on board. When the opportunity arose to bring him in we snapped him up before any one else could.”

Bradford (Park Avenue) welcome former Aston Villa academy player, Riccardo Calder to the squad.

Calder was part of the Villa under-19’s team which won the 2012–13 NextGen Series, beating Chelsea in the final of the competition.

Speaking about the signing, interim first team boss, Marcus Law admitted the signing may be controversial amongst supporters:

“We’re aware that there may be some controversy around this signing. Riccardo’s recently come back to football after serving a short sentence. I won’t go into the details here, but he’s made a mistake, served his time and is looking to rebuild his life.”

“Since I came on board with the Avenue it’s been stressed to me that we are a community club. So with that in mind I think it’s the perfect environment for the lad to rebuild his career in the game, and I hope the fans will join myself and Lee in welcoming Riccardo in with open arms.”

Calder, who plays at left back, spoke to BPAFC.com at training on Thurday saying:

“I’m looking forward to getting going. I like a challenge and feel I can make a real difference here. I’m a team player and can bring the energy needed to create opportunities.”

For the chance to see Calder in action, join us at the Horsfall stadium tomorrow at 3pm, as Avenue take on Blyth Spartans.