BRADFORD (Park Avenue) boss Mark Bower has heaped praise on striker Jacob Blyth following his dramatic winner in Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Boston United.
Super sub, Blyth, entered the fray in the second half and completely turned the tide for Avenue as they fought back from 1-0 down to claim a monumental victory-with Blyth rising highest to head in the winner with 15 minutes to go.
The striker’s cameo certainly didn’t go unnoticed by manager Mark Bower.
He said: “I’ve been impressed with Blythy recently. I’m sure that every striker we’ve got, not just Jacob, probably feels like they should have scored more goals, as every striker wants that.
“However, his all-round play has been very good for us, he’s been a great target man, both on the floor and in the air, and he’s had a great contribution in linking up our play. Between our three strikers, Jordan Preston, Brad Dockerty and Blythy, we’ve managed to give them all some solid minutes ,and I think not starting the game on Saturday helped Jacob to come on and make a telling impact. He was fresh, he was able to stretch the defence and that worked a treat for us and him; I’m delighted for him.”
Bower added: “We’ve got another Saturday-Monday weekend again with this one coming up, so we will look to utilise the squad in the best way possible. I can’t say if Jacob will definitely start on Saturday, but we’ll certainly look to make changes between the two games.”
Saturday's victory against Boston has brought Avenue a point away from safety, and they've got a great chance to claw the deficit back further this Saturday as they travel to Buxton (12:30 pm), a side who only sit two points and places above them in 19th.
Looking ahead to the fixture, Bower said: "We were delighted to get the victory on Saturday because we needed it due to our recent run. It was important to nip that period in the bud as soon as we possibly could, and we did that.
"Hopefully, that second half fightback can breathe a lot of confidence into the team, as we haven't been able to complete a comeback like that all season. Not only that, I thought that second half display was as dominant as we've been in a game this season, while it also showed a great deal of fight."
Bower added: "We must build on that display though because if we don't, then it doesn't count for much in all honesty. I'm trying not to look at the table too much at the minute, however, we are aware that Saturday's game against Buxton is an important one in relation to where the two teams are.
"Buxton have been on a good cup run, so they've got a few fixtures to catch up on and that's why I believe the table looks slightly unfair on them. They're a very strong and quick team and we know they'll bring a number of different challenges to us."
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