The youthful Park AVENUE side have the perfect OPPORTUNITY to compare themselves  to youthful oppositiOn

Plenty of the young men lining up for the mouthwatering pre-season friendly will have a point to prove against the Huddersfield under 23’s.

Many of the young players have opted for game time instead of sitting on the sidelines at a myriad of football league clubs. This pre season fixture will allow the players to gauge how they face off against a youth team 4 divisions their senior.

Ben Hedley is a player in particular who will relish the chance to showcase his abilities. He’d love to perhaps turn the heads of some agents and leave a message for those at his former club who didn’t think he was ready to seize the opportunity of first team football.

Some players to have come from the Huddersfield academy from the under 18’s may sound familiar. Such as Bradford City’s hero from the 2014/15 FA cup run Jon Stead and current first team and under 23 player Philip Billing (Denmark International).

The game will take place at Horsfall Stadium on the 30th of July at 7:30pm. This will be the final pre season game before the beginning of the 2019/20 Panarama National North season!

Kieran Dalby

@DeadsetDalby

20th July 2019

3:00pm Kickoff 

Horsfall Stadium 

Bradford (Park Avenue) Host Championship side Sheffield Wednesday’s under 23 squad.

The young Sheffield side has seen success in pre season, playing first team of rivals Derby County and being beaten 3-2, leaves many positives to be taken.

The Sheffield Wednesday academy has created many players including England international Jamie Vardy, originating from Sheffield himself.

Sheffield Wednesday finished 12 in the second division of English Football last season, scoring 60 goals and collecting 64 points.

This will be Bradford (Park Avenue)’s fifth Pre season Friendly, the Third of which that will be hosted at Horsfall, it will be the first academy side that Thompson’s men have faced, many of the young players are excited to see how they perform against young opposition and understand where they are in their own learning.

Pricing

Adults- £10

Concessions/Students £8

Under 17’s £1

tickets can be bought on match day at the gates.

Bradford (Park Avenue) has recently implemented a #ProperBradford plan, which consists of new season ticket prices, which mean an adult receives entry to all 21 games, a hot drink at each and 1 limited edition scarf, you can read that article here.

Bradford (Park Avenue) play home to Rotherham United in the first of four consecutive home games before the beginning of the season!

Rotherham finished 22nd in the Championship last season, missing out on holding their place in the league by only four points. They return to league one after being promoted via playoffs the year before.

Rotherham will be hoping to do enough return to the championship this season with manager Paul Warne announcing “We’ll be back in (the Championship) before we know it”. Warne’s side has seen plenty of success in the pre season, scoring 11 goals and only conceding three in three games.

Garry Thompson’s side are equally hungry for success, having notched their first pre season victory last week against Brighouse Town. The final result finished 3-2 with one of the goals coming from Assistant Manager ,Shaun Gardner. Gardner praised the young side saying “there are many positives to take away from the game” and that the players “did really well, and it was a great win” You can read the match report of this game here

This is the second time Horsefall Stadium has seen game time this season and with many new renovations such as the upgraded clubhouse it is ready for the supporters and has never looked better!

In addition to the changes to the squad and Ground, the club has recently implemented a #ProperBradford plan, which consists of new season ticket prices, which mean an adult receives entry to all 21 games, a hot drink at each and 1 limited edition scarf, you can read that article here.

Bradford (Park Avenue) make there way down the road to local Team, Brighouse Town, in their third pre season game and their second and final away game before the beginning of the season.

Brighouse play their trade in the Northern Premier league, the seventh division of English football after being promoted Via playoffs last year, they were promoted from the 8th division, where they accumulated 71 points and finished third.

Bradford will be looking towards new signing Ryan Cresswell to bolster the squad and add some much needed experience alongside managers Garry Thompson and Shaun Gardner as a player with over 250 football league games.

Despite the lack of experience currently in the squad many of the players and staff praise the moral and energy around the club and believe the youthful exuberance will be a pushing factor in the club’s success this year. Thompson commented that “we will be a real dark horse in the league and cause some trouble”

In addition to the changes to the squad, the club has recently implemented a #ProperBradford plan, which consists of new season ticket prices, which mean an adult receives entry to all 21 games, a hot drink at each and 1 limited edition scarf, you can read that article here.

Bradford (Park Avenue) AFC vs Mansfield Town FC

Bradford (park avenue) face tough opposition at home In mansfield.

Bradford (Park Avenue) will play their second pre season game, their first at home, on the evening of the 11th of July.

Mansfield finished 4th in league 2 in the 2018/19 season narrowly missing out on the playoff finals after suffering a defeat to Newport County 5-3 on penalties after a one all stalemate over the course of two games.

Mansfield will be looking to build on last years successes and this pre season clash will give them the opportunity to play against a side with a point to prove.

Not unlike Bradford, Mansfield have experienced playoff heartbreak two years in a row, however both squads look to have what they need to develop on their past achievements and push past them.

Late last week the youthful Bradford (Park Avenue) side travelled to the home of Hemsworth Minors in their first pre season game, the game finished a 2-2 draw however manager Garry Thompson disregarded the score line and praised the young players and Trialists for their efforts. Match Report and squad are available to view here.

Against Hemsworth Minors, Mitchell Lund was a player who was very much catching eyes by putting on a very solid defensive performance for every minute he was on the pitch, diffusing attacks that otherwise could have lead to goals.

When asked how he had settled in with the rest of the team he replied  “All the lads are great and the Moral here is brilliant, obviously I also played with Garry at Morecambe so we have a relationship there too” .

In addition to the changes to the squad, the club has recently implemented a #ProperBradford plan, which consists of new season ticket prices, which mean an adult receives entry to all 21 games, a hot drink at each and 1 limited edition scarf, you can read that article here.

Hemsworth Minors vs Bradford (Park Avenue)

The first pre-season clash of the year sees Bradford (Park Avenue) make the trip to the outskirts of Wakefield.

Hemsworth finished 4th in the NCEL Premier Division last season racking up 24 wins, (12 away, 12 at home) which resulted in a total of 75 points.

Nash Connolly was an integral part of the Hemsworth side’s success, hitting the back of the net 26 times and claiming Hemsworth’s top goal scorer position.

This fixture will be one of only two away fixtures of the entire pre season with a short journey to Brighouse coming fast around the corner.

Bradford (Park Avenue) have very high hopes for the upcoming season, recruiting many young players to be lead out onto the pitch by the experienced Garry Thompson and Shaun Gardner. such as midfielder Ben Heddley and Matty Clarke who were the first two players to put pen to paper for the 2019/20 season

The young lads of Park Avenue will have a lot of work to do to shape themselves into promotion contenders and this all important first pre-season game is the perfect opportunity for them to show the fans and the league exactly why they are here.

In addition to the changes to the squad, the club has recently implemented a #ProperBradford plan, which consists of new season ticket prices, which mean an adult receives entry to all 21 games, a hot drink at each and 1 limited edition scarf, you can read that article here.

Kieran Dalby
@DeadsetDalby