Bradford (Park Avenue) 2-0 Altrincham

A CROWD of 423 finally witnessed a league win for Bradford (Park Avenue) as they downed an in-form Altrincham at the Horsfall Stadium.

Earlier in the week, Mark Bower had stated that it would be his greatest achievement if he could save Avenue from the drop, after only producing one win since the beginning of his second spell in charge at the club.

Well, he certainly began his quest for survival on a positive note thanks to goals from Tom Clare and the ever-reliant Oli Johnson, which now puts the bottom-placed club one point away from Blyth Spartans and six points away from relegation in the Vanarama National League North.

On paper, one could assume that the scoreline suggests that it was an easy afternoon for the hosts, however it was far from it, with Bower's men having to fight for everything to produce only their third league win of the season.

Avenue made three changes from their last outing in the 2-1 defeat to league chasers Chester, giving home debuts to Clare and the returning Nicky Clee in place for Isaac Marriot and Adam Nowakowski, while Jon Royle came in for Isiah Bazeley.

Despite Altrincham gaining a good spell of early possession, it was the home side who took the lead through excellent work from their attacking trio.

Throughout the match, Johnson, Clee and Clare proved to be a thorn in the visitors' side, constantly causing problems with their interplay.

On this occasion, it was no different as good work from Johnson on the left found Clee who pushed the ball across the goalmouth to find a potent Clare ready to pounce.

Avenue came again minutes later, when Alex Hirst was the creator to top scorer Lewis Knight's flick, forcing Anthony Thompson to tip over.

The hosts almost proved to be masters of their own downfall when a simple punt upfield was misjudged by captain Keith Lowe, whose poor header allowed Jordan Hulme a clear run on goal.

After doing everything right by rounding the keeper, Hulme's effort smashed off the crossbar to disappoint the 17th-placed Alty.

The away side were in again before the break after a low drilled cross evaded any attacker as Ryan Toulson did well to mop up at the far post.

Alty seemed reinvigorate after their half-time talk, immediately putting their foot on the accelerate by forcing Avenue to defend their own box.

Although they failed to create any worthwhile chances, as it was Avenue who looked more dangerous on the break.

Joe Royal's superb half-volley produced a wonderful save by Thompson diving to his right.

It was backs to the wall for the hosts, hoping they could gain a valuable win, Bower replaced Knight with Bazeley and moved to a 4-5-1 which saw Clare's lone figure upfront.

With great support behind them, Avenue's dogged defence remained solid to halt the possession greedy Altrincham in their tracks.

As the away side pushed everyone forward aiming for an equalised, it allowed Johnson to be played through one-on-one over the halfway line.

The 32-year-old did brilliantly to hold his composure and not follow in the footsteps of Hulme by placing the ball firmly in the back of the net with only minutes to go.

The forward was immediately taken off after his finish, while Avenue saw out their biggest victory of the season.

The result could prove to be the turning point which Bower has desperately been waiting for, with a shoot up the table a possibility if this squad can maintain their togetherness over a busy Christmas period.