Bradford Park Avenue 3

Runcorn FC Halton 1

Park Avenue's steady rise up the UniBond Premier Division took them to a new high this week as they reached 16th for the first time ever following a straightforward home win over mid-table rivals.

After taking just three points from their first dozen fixtures in the league they have hit back with a form that has stunned their doubters and detractors. Saturday's win was their ninth in the last 14 games.

A points haul of 27 which added to their first three sees them through the 30-point barrier, consolidating their status by the game. They should be in an even stronger position after Wednesday's visit of struggling, managerless Bamber Bridge.

But strict Avenue boss Trevor Storton will have no such talk. He aims to keep his players focused and will not allow his players or staff to speculate on future games.

"You can't take anything for granted in this game so it's best to concentrate on the task in hand, all I can say is that if we go out with the confidence we showed against Runcorn we can go on from here and win enough points to keep us up," said the boss.

"We played very well and passed the ball about despite the conditions. It was not an easy pitch to play on, it was tacky and wet and the wind was a factor but we still played some good football.

"And all that against a good side, okay Runcorn have been through a bit of a bad patch but they are tough opponents. They all are in this league we have all heard managers in this division saying there are no easy games.

"They say that because it's true, that's why we can't let our guard drop and we can't look at games like Wednesday against a team who are struggling and take them for granted. You won't get anything without working for it.

"We got our reward on Saturday because we did just that. We could have gone 4-0 up and that would have been a fair score line, but we missed chances and had to graft some more.

"Lee Potter did very, very well, he is showing the bits and pieces of his game that make him stand out. We are seeing the kind of ability from him that he showed when he was in the Football League.

"But it's a team game and they all deserve a bit a credit for a good professional performance. James Stansfield scored a great goal, top corner, one of those from a centre back where you think 'where the hell did that come from' we have to carry on turning in display's like this."

Avenue edged in front from a third-minute free kick. Andy Hayward spotted keeper Tony McMillan not paying full attention and netting a direct shot for his 15th of the season.

They deservedly doubled their lead in only the 17th minute. Martin James whipped in a corner which the visitors could not effectively clear and Stansfield thundered a 15 yard volley into the top corner.

One good save from home keeper Rob Montgomery, and some excellent handling of crosses by him, restricted the visitors while Avenue had a strong penalty appeal turned down and Potter and Jason Maxwell went close to stretching the lead.

Runcorn halved their deficit out of the blue 13 minutes from time. Home centre back Micky Thompson lost his footing on the slippery surface and Dave Gamble pounced to feed Steve Carragher who swept the ball in.

The result was never in any doubt and Avenue finished on a high when they re-established their two goal cushion in the last minute.

Dean Calcutt went on a run and cut into the area from the left flank before finding Maxwell who kept the pressure on top scorer Hayward by claiming his 14th of the campaign.