IT DID not take Wayne Brooksby long to announce his return after a hamstring injury.

The 27-year-old forward rifled home a left-foot shot in the fourth minute of Bradford Park Avenue's home match against Gainsborough Trinity on Monday after a Nicky Clee corner had rebounded to him off the base of the far post.

"I have a history of hamstring injuries – I've had five or six of them," grinned man of the match Brooksby afterwards following his three-week absence.

"But I went training on the Thursday before and felt fine."

There were home debuts for Dan Pybus, fellow 20-year-old Frank Mulhern and Adam Smith against Gainsborough.

Pybus has signed on a month's loan from Bradford City and said: "I have been in the first-team squad ten times for City over the course of a year – four in the Checkatrade Trophy, once in the league, once in the Carabao Cup and four times as an unused sub in the Checkatrade – but now it is about developing my physicality."

His performance was certainly not lost on Avenue manager Mark Bower, who said: "He provided energy and quality for us.

"He's someone I've seen play on several occasions in their (City's) under-23 side and, as he gets more used to the physical side of the football at our level, I'm sure he'll improve further and be a real asset during his loan spell.

"Frank has signed on loan (from Guiseley) until the end of the season and I felt both he and Adam showed glimpses of what they are about when they came off the bench.

"None of these signings would have been possible without the help of the players fund initiative and they will be vital in not only adding strength in depth to the squad but also increasing competition for places in the starting 11."

Gainsborough were walloped 5-0 on a crisp evening at Horsfall Stadium and it was not only noticeable how well Avenue played but also how well the pitch held up.

Bower said: "I have seen pitches recently that have been a lot worse but maybe the frost helped the pitch to stay firm.

"A special mention must go to everyone who has worked on it over the last few weeks during the bad weather.

"The surface allowed us to move the ball quickly and played a massive part in the victory."

Trinity, obviously not happy with their first-half performance, made two substitutions at half-time.

Once the third goal went in straight after the restart, and definitely the fourth, Avenue were able to relax and conserve their energy for what will undoubtedly be a stiffer test at home to Darlington today.