BRADFORD (Park Avenue) manager Mark Bower was proud of how his side overcame a remarkable injury crisis on Monday night to secure a hard-fought 0-0 draw at home to title-chasing Scarborough Athletic.

They remain in the National League North relegation zone as a result, but the battle to avoid the drop is so tight at the moment, that every point could be vital.

And Bower has revealed just how bleak the situation was, telling the T&A: "When you go through it, we had 11 outfield first-team players unable to start.

"We begged and borrowed a few young lads to come in on loan, five academy boys were in the squad, and a few of the senior players who did start shouldn't have as they weren't fully fit.

"I'm pleased because we did really well in the game, and all the lads who played worked so hard.

"It wasn't the prettiest from us, but some of our fans have been saying it was the most enjoyable performance they've seen for a while, given the circumstances.

"I'm very proud, because all the players came together and got something."

Scarborough unsurprisingly dominated the game, but they only tested Avenue keeper George Sykes-Kenworthy on a handful of occasions, while both Josh Hinds and Brad Dockerty went close to scoring a shock winner for the hosts in the second half.

Striker Hinds, on loan from Hull City, was one of several players in the matchday 16 who were under 21, yet Bower could find no fault with his youngsters, many of whom were making their first starts in men's football.

He said: "They did really well.

"Louie Chorlton (on loan from Hull like Hinds) was out of position at left-back, while George Eze from the academy was at right-back, having been out injured for the last few months, but he did a good job physically.

"It was only Myles La Bastide's second appearance for us, but sadly he went off injured, and Josh has been ill and playing catch-up.

"Everyone who put on a shirt against Scarborough did remarkably well though, and I can't criticise any of them."

One player who didn't put on a shirt in the end was Avenue's assistant manager Danny Boshell, with the 41-year-old forced out of retirement as an unused substitute on Monday due to the injury crisis.

Bower laughed: "Harrison Hopper went down with a swollen knee a couple of times late on and Bosh got stripped ready to come on.

"But I think when Harrison looked up and saw Bosh was ready to replace him, he decided he'd better try and finish the game, which thankfully he did."

Bower expects all of the first-team players who featured against Scarborough, barring Oli Johnson, who limped off at half-time, to be fit to face Peterborough Sports on Saturday.

There should be a few others who missed out on Monday back in contention to play, while Reece Staunton will return from his two-game ban next Tuesday against rock-bottom AFC Telford United.

That means the situation should never get as bad as it did on Monday, with the club's director of football Martin Knight expressing his anger on Twitter over the league refusing to postpone the game.

But Bower said: "When we put in that request, we hadn't yet got in (centre-back) Danny Benson on a month's loan, he only arrived at the club about an hour before kick-off.

"We also had a couple of the senior lads who were really touch and go, but eventually they declared themselves fit enough to play.

"I can see why the league responded how they did, and I imagine that's a blanket response to all clubs from them.

"We were just concerned, before we had those extra bodies available that I've just mentioned, that it wouldn't be a fair and competitive game, and that that might affect the integrity of the competition."