A 2-0 defeat at Horsfall this afternoon confirmed Bradford (Park Avenue’s) National League North relegation while victory for Fylde sealed their promotion to the National League after three years away.

With everything to play for on a nail-biting final day, Avenue knew that only a victory would confirm their National League North status while the visitors needed to match or better the result of King’s Lynn Town to achieve promotion. 

Earlier in the week Bradford boss Mark Bower claimed that keeping his side in National League North from a near-impossible position would be his greatest achievement in a decade of management, and from the get-go it was evident that the hosts had an almost impossible task to achieve that against a well drilled promotion hopeful, Fylde.

The visitors, as expected, controlled the opening stages of the fixture but it was Avenue who managed to create the best chances in the first quarter of the contest.

After five minutes, Will Longbottom so nearly connected with a Sam Fielding cross, but a glancing header from Emeka Obi managed to put the ball behind for a corner to the hosts.

Like so often with Bradford this season, it was another ‘so nearly’ moment for the home side 20 minutes later when Simon Richman almost got a glancing touch on a brilliant La-Bastide cross.

That was as good as it got for Bower’s men before the interval, and it was Fylde who began to exert their dominance on the fixture and show why they were  in the driving seat for promotion to the National League.

Just as news broke through regarding Blyth Spartans’ 2-0 lead over Hereford, matters were made worse for Avenue when Nick Haughton poked the ball home to give the visitors a well-deserved lead only moments after a Joe Rowley volley had been disallowed for offside.

From then on, the away side, who never needed to get out of second gear, cruised into a 1-0 half-time lead - leaving Avenue chasing shadows.

The second half started brightly for Bower’s side as they looked to keep their slim chances of survival alive, but they lacked a real cutting edge in front of goal and were guilty of being indecisive in the final third, particularly when it came to the final pass.

Just like that, Fylde were on hand to punish the hosts to queue pandemonium in the barmy away end – where over 500 visiting fans were present. A brilliant dummy from Connor Barrett saw the ball go through to Joe Rowley who drilled a fierce low strike beyond the reach of George Sykes-Kenworthy. 

As Blyth Spartans raced into a 4-0 lead over Hereford the possibility of relegation was growing by the minute for Avenue while promotion to the National League was getting tantalisingly close for the visitors following a three-year absence from the division.

Fylde then brought on pacey winger Siya Ligendza from the substitutes bench and he was able to create more problems for the home side – winning a corner after a direct run at fullback Mark Ross. From the resulting corner, Fylde captain Alex Whitmore directed a powerful header onto Sykes-Kenworthy’s crossbar. 

Ligendza then went close hitting a fierce low drive towards Avenue’s goal but Kenworthy gratefully gathered.

That was that for Avenue and it was contrasting emotions at full-time for the two teams as Fylde fans invaded the pitch to spark joyous scenes for the away side. As for Bradford, it was too little, too late in their push for survival but they can be proud of their recent efforts.