Bradford Park Avenue aim to consolidate their place in the UniBond Division One play-off zone at home to Chorley tomorrow after progressing on two cup fronts since their last league outing.

Avenue will be looking to make the most of the visit of the division's basement outfit when a maximum could haul them further up the table from their current fifth place.

With so many cup games and more to come after wins in the FA Trophy, which saw Neil Redfearn clock up his 1,000th appearance, the UniBond Lea-gue Challenge Cup and the West Riding County Cup, Avenue now have games in hand on three of the four clubs above them.

The mood will be buoyant, especially after the midweek result when they beat Premier Division neighbours Guiseley on penalties after the derby ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.

That gave Avenue credibility because, despite their recent slump, Guiseley are still going well in a higher division than Phil Sharpe's team.

"It was a good win for us; I thought we deserved to win in normal time," said the Bradford boss.

"Guiseley have lost a bit of confidence or had a dip in form over the last few weeks and we took advantage of that.

"It was by no means an easy win. It was hard work but probably one of our best performances of the season.

"The best part of Guiseley's game at the moment is their defence. I thought they defended really well on Tuesday. Their three centre backs were amazing, they were so solid.

"I thought it wasn't our day at one point. We gave a sloppy goal away from a poor ball in from a set-piece and then a soft penalty in the last minute. I didn't think it was a foul but it just summed up our night.

"When it hit the bar I thought that was justice. The experience in our ranks saw us through the penalty shoot-out after extra time."

Despite winning that shoot-out and progressing to the second round of the UniBond League Challenge Cup, Sharpe is forced to make a change to the squad.

Recent signing Jamie Longley begins a three-game suspension for a sending-off for his former club Silsden.

"It was great to win the cup games but we need to get back to winning ways in the league and pick points up," added Sharpe.

"The season has been on hold with the cup games and we need a couple of bread and butter wins now. That would put us up there again and prove to the others that we are serious contenders.

"We have got to show the form of the last couple of weeks. I'm very pleased with the players and their attitudes to the games and commitment to training."

Bradford PA (from): Skiba, Jefferies, Robinson, Grayston, Cooke, Chattoe, Clarke, Shaw, Wilson, Redfearn, Parke, Longley, Flynn, Ross, Connor, Helliwell, Greaves, McLaughlin.

  • Luke Sherman grabbed a hat-trick on his debut as Avenue reserves won 4-1 against Rossendale United. Noel Whittaker completed the scoring in the Lancashire League clash.