Bradford (Park Avenue) staged an amazing recovery to draw 3-3 at home to Gainsborough Trinity yesterday, but that point was insufficient to maintain them in the Northern Premier League Premier Division, and they were relegated for the second consecutive season.
The hosts were mathematically alive at the final whistle at Horsfall, only for rivals Basford United to keep themselves in contention with a 100th-minute draw at champions Radcliffe, sending Avenue and Stafford Rangers down in the process.
Avenue’s final game next weekend at Matlock Town will be academic as they prepare to compete in the NPL East Division with Liversedge, Brighouse Town, Campion, and Albion Sports in 2024/25.
Avenue nearly went down 1-0 right away Wednesday, when custodian Craig Ellison and captain Lucas Odunston got into a scuffle at the back, only to be saved by Declan Howe, who scuffed the ball wide of an empty net.
Avenue’s first chance of the game came 15 minutes in, when Mason O’Malley sent a dangerous cross into the box in an attempt to find Adrian Thibaut, but home keeper Dylan Wharton saved the ball brilliantly.
Gainsborough scored the game’s opening goal just before the 20-minute mark, when Howe wrapped the ball around Ellison and into the back of the net from a close angle.
Minutes later, the prolific Howe scored another goal for Trinity, this time with a beautiful volley.
Trinity managed to score all of their goals before halftime, with Fraser Preston scoring his third of the season at 38 minutes.
Bradford urgently tried to regain control before the interval, and after Harry Colville’s shot struck the side netting, teammate Ted Lavelle headed home O’Malley’s corner to make the score 3–1.
Trinity was reduced to ten men just over an hour into the game when Dylan Cogill received a red card, which altered the trajectory of the game.
Jake Daniels was quick to capitalise on that ejection, scoring Avenue’s second goal midway through the second half.
Daniels, on loan from Blackpool, scored Avenue’s third goal with 12 minutes remaining, but they were unable to find the key winner that would have saved their season.
