Vanarama National League North: Bradford Park Avenue 0 Tamworth 0

BRADFORD Park Avenue head to leaders AFC Fylde in Vanarama  National North tomorrow still needing points to preserve their status following a bore draw against Tamworth on Saturday.

There was plenty of endeavour and determination from both sides, but on a dry and bumpy pitch with a vicious wind, conditions were difficult.

The draw snuffed out the Lambs’ faint hopes of a play-off finish but Avenue see it as a point gained.

They moved back up to 16th and are now eight points clear of the drop zone, and boss Mark Bower was satisfied.

He said: “It was certainly not a classic and I think it summed it up when you see players trying to run with the ball and it’s bouncing up around their knees.

“I think there was a turning point late in the game when Aidan Chippendale did really well to get on the end of Oli Johnson’s ball into the box, and their keeper makes a fantastic save from point-blank range.

“Then they go down the other end and Spider (Avenue keeper Jon Worsnop) makes a great save from their best player, Danny Newton.

"I thought we deserved at least a point, and if that had gone in it would have been harsh on us.”

There were just over 20 minutes to play when Avenue carved out that chance, and Chris Sharp had also done well to find Johnson before he smuggled the ball through to Chippendale.

Lambs keeper Dan Jezeph showed lightning reactions to deny Chippendale, and minutes later Worsnop’s positioning was perfect as he palmed Newton’s fierce, angled drive for a corner.

There was little else to trouble either goalkeeper throughout the game as both sides defended well.

Bodies thrown in the way and strikers snatching at rare half-chances ensured that the keepers had a quiet afternoon.

Bower must now focus his group on a difficult game against a Fylde side that consolidated their place at the summit with a 1-0 win over promotion-chasing FC Halifax Town at The Shay on Good Friday.

The Avenue boss had made some changes to the starting line-up and, with two games in three days, there is likely to be more rotation tomorrow.

Bower said: “We brought a few players back into the side and they did well, and we always knew that James Knowles would miss Saturday through his work commitments.

“Danny Boshell was rested and we brought Nicky Wroe off in the second half to give him a bit of a break.

"It’ll be difficult at Fylde. The odds are stacked against us. They have had an extra day’s rest, their players are full-time and they’re top of the league but we’ve got good players and they’re looking forward to playing on that excellent surface Fylde have got.”