Wrexham U19 0
Bradford (Park Avenue) U19 1
National League U19 Alliance (Division H)

Match Report

A superb display of goalkeeping from Bradford Park Avenue’s Liam Hall ensured that the destiny of the National League U19 Alliance title will go down to the final game of the season after the visitors’ 1-0 win at the Hollingsworth Group Stadium. The impressive 18-year-old custodian produced a string of fine saves to keep the Wrexham attack at bay during a ninety minutes in which the home side enjoyed the majority of the play against their main divisional rivals.

The result was ultimately decided inside the opening four minutes when Myles La Bastide’s 30-yard free-kick dipped low in front of Wrexham keeper Matty Hayes and squirmed into the corner of the net. It was a vital goal for the Yorkshire side who knew nothing less than victory would be enough to keep them in the title hunt.

As in the defeat at Fylde, Wrexham struggled to find their rhythm in the opening period although Mikey Hayman came close to levelling matters on 13 minutes with a header from Owen Cushion’s flighted free-kick but Hall was on hand to make the first of his many saves. Both sides also had good shouts for penalty appeals turned away before Hall raced out of his goal to deny the on-rushing Milner in first-half injury-time.

The second stanza saw the Young Reds dominate with Dan Davies heading over from a well worked free-kick routine involving Caleb Hughes and Harry Ashfield, Hayman then fired a shot across the face of the goal which just eluded Hughes before the latter shot agonisingly wide from close range. Bradford’s sole attacking threat came from a succession of corners which ended with Josh Coe heading narrowly wide of the far post. With time running out, Hayman burst through only to see Hall make another fine stop before Reece Oliver’s last gasp effort was denied condemning Wrexham to their first home defeat of the season.

“We played well enough to get something out of the game, if not a win, but our first 45 minutes lacked aggression and cohesion both in and out of possession,” reflected Head of Youth Dan Nolan after the match. “That meant the second half was always going to be a battle against a very good team and we couldn’t quite manage it.

“I thought Bradford Park Avenue played really well and their keeper is exceptional for his age. He’s made three superb saves; two one-v-one’s and then the save from Reece Oliver in the last minute. The ball bounces up nicely around the penalty-spot and Reece makes a great contact, but the keeper somehow manages to deny him. We’ve created enough chances to win the game but also come up against a good team.

“If we win at Stockport then we win the league on goal difference which is a testament to how well we’ve beaten teams over the course of the season. Bradford need to win both their games and hope we drop points at Stockport next week, so it’s still in our own hands.”