Bradford (Park Avenue) produced an emphatic performance on Friday evening, putting seven past Grimsby Borough at the Horsfall Community Stadium, to move top of the Northern Premier League East Division, ahead of the weekend fixtures.
After a cagey opening ten minutes, the Avenue came close when Luke Parkin’s in-swinging cross from the left almost crept into the top corner, only for opposition goalkeeper Heath Richardson to make a fine stop.
Minutes later, the deadlock was broken as Brad Abbott grabbed his second goal in as many games with a finish, not too dissimilar from the one he produced against Silsden AFC. The ball fell kindly to the Bradford midfielder on the edge of the box, before he unleashed a superb effort into the corner.
The goal sparked a dominant spell for the home side. Around the half-hour mark, Marcus Carver timed his run perfectly to find space down the right before sending a ball across the goal. Robbie Fox got a flick on it, but he could only direct his effort into the side netting.
Just seconds later, another great chance fell to the Avenue. Charlie Winfield found space inside the area, but his effort struck the outside of the post and bounced wide.
Not dismayed by their near misses, the Avenue doubled their lead in the 33rd minute. Prince Ekpolo pounced on a defensive mix-up from the visitors, before powering into the box and pulling the ball back to Louie Chorlton, who calmly slotted his effort into the bottom corner.
Minutes later, Fox continued his fine run of form with Bradford’s third of the night. Carver, again, beat the Grimsby offside trap and squared the ball for Fox, who, this time, made no mistake with a confident left-footed finish.
The Avenue’s impressive attacking display continued into the second half as Fox doubled his tally for the evening. Bursting down the left wing, the Avenue attacker tormented the opposition defence, before cutting inside onto his right foot and thumping an excellent strike into the corner, leaving the goalkeeper with no chance.
Fox wasn’t the only Avenue player to grab a brace on the night, as Chorlton notched his second after the hour mark. Picking the ball up on the right, the Avenue wide man tricked his marker with some mesmerising footwork before powerful an effort past Richardson, who was unable to prevent the ball from flying into the net.
As the second half wore on, Avenue boss Craig Elliott continued to rotate his side and utilise his substitutes, but the changes did little to disrupt the excellent attacking football on display. In the 67th minute, Parkin found space on the edge of the area, before curling a wonderful effort into the top corner to make it six.
In the 77th minute, a rare Grimsby Borough attack earned them a penalty. The referee adjudged that Connor Brown had pushed an opponent inside the penalty area and didn’t hesitate to point to the spot, brandishing a yellow card. Up stepped Kieron Ceesay, but his effort was saved well by Declan Lambton, who guessed correctly and held on well.
Disappointingly for the Avenue stopper, the visitors grabbed a consolation goal, a minute later. Once again, Lambton produced a good save, this time to deny Luke Ayris inside the area, but the ball fell kindly to Bradley Wood, who was left with a simple tap-in to deny the Avenue a clean sheet.
With three minutes of normal time remaining, the Avenue still had time to make it seven. New signing Bailey Thompson worked his way down the left before finding Ben Andreucci, who calmly stroked the ball into the corner with his left foot to round off a memorable night for the Green Army.
Bradford (Park Avenue) are certainly providing excitement at the moment, with Friday’s commanding victory extending their unbeaten start to the league campaign and sending them to the top of the table.
With attacking football and goals flowing, the Avenue supporters can now sit back and enjoy the weekend knowing their team has certainly done the business.
The Avenue will look to build on their impressive form on Tuesday 15 September, when Beverley Town visit the Horsfall Community Stadium for a 7:45pm kick-off.
We encourage everyone to tell a family member and friend to join them on the terraces to support the lads.
Match Report by Ste Grimshaw
Full Time: Bradford (Park Avenue) 7-1 Grimsby Borough
Attendance: 490
Kick-off: 19:45pm
Referee: Ronan Coller-Booth
Venue: Horsfall Community Stadium
Bradford (Park Avenue): Lambton, Brown, Winfield (J. Thompson 68′), Ekpolo (Haw 73′), Misambo, Ible (C), Hassan-Smith (Chorlton 26′), Abbott, Carver (B. Thompson 65′), Parkin, Fox (Andreucci 58′)
Goalscorers: Abbott (19′), Chorlton (33′, 63′), Fox (35′, 53′), Parkin (67′), Andreucci (87′)
Grimsby Borough: Richardson, Bradley, Adelekan (Ayris 48′), Wood, Sawyer, Walker (Drummond 82′), Venney (Robinson – Barlow 81′), Topliss (C), Ceesay, Flett (Clements 81′), Cribb (Clarke 49′)
Goalscorers: Wood (77′)