A look at some past meetings between Harriers and Bradford Park Avenue…
By Matty Paddock - 12/10/2018
Posted 8 years ago
SATURDAY marks just the tenth meeting between Harriers and Bradford Park Avenue – but it has been a packed rivalry to date.
The Reds and Avenue had no cause to cross swords until an FA Cup draw paired them together in the Fourth Qualifying Round in 2013. Since that date, however, the two have meet in the league, the FA Trophy and, of course, the play-offs.
The fact that Avenue would prove to be difficult opponents for Harriers was evident from the off; that first meeting ended in a 1-1 draw that forced a replay that Steve Burr’s charges won 2-1 after extra time at Aggborough.
That wouldn’t be all, though. Before Stourbridge and after Vauxhall Motors as our Cup bugbears, there were Bradford Park Avenue. Just a month after Harriers’ Cup win, we were off to the Horsfall Stadium yet again, this time in FA Trophy action where a Michael Gash goal wasn’t enough to prevent a knock out as the hosts won 2-1.
The Trophy produced exactly the same encounter a year later. After a postponement on the initial Saturday, Harriers won out 4-1 on the Tuesday that followed, just 159 in attendance as Marvin Johnson and Craig Reid were among the goals.
There’s been no Groundhog Day to pair the two together in a Cup competition since 2014, but with Harriers’ arrival in National League North, more regular league meetings followed. Last season, Harriers failed to overcome Avenue in three meetings – the two normal league matches ending in a draw (1-1) and a defeat (1-2), before Bradford inflicted the ultimate agony in the most recent match between the teams, the May 2018 play-off Eliminator that saw them triumph 2-0 in front of 2,291 at Aggborough.
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