BRADFORD (Park Avenue) face an almighty midweek clash this evening against a promotion rival.

Avenue take a trip to third-placed Spennymoor Town knowing adding a victory to their five-game unbeaten streak will see them draw level on points with their opponents.

The battle of two National North high-fliers had been scheduled for last Tuesday, having originally been called off in February, but it was postponed again due to adverse weather conditions.

This leaves Avenue without a game since their 2-0 win at Ashton United nine days ago.

Tonight begins a run of four games in less than two weeks and boss Mark Bower is relishing the challenge.

He said: “That last little spell that we’ve been in of four games in quite quick succession, we came through that strongly.

“We’ve just got to make sure we do the same. It’s probably a tougher run of fixtures in this one, but the lads should be confident.

“We should have that belief that we can go out and get results again after, not just picking up points, but really good performances.

“It starts with a really tough one away at Spennymoor, but we feel we’re up where we are on merit and to prove that we’ve got to go and do well against the likes of Spennymoor and Telford who are up there with us.”

Even though Avenue’s hosts have endured a tough, winless March, Bower is well aware of Spennymoor’s credentials, the north-east club having snapped up Adam Boyes from Horsfall before the start of the season.

He said: “They’re a really good side. They’re well backed financially and they’ve signed some really good players.

“They took our top scorer in the summer, paid a decent fee for him, and he’s barely played in their team so it just shows how strong they are – not just the starting 11 but the strength that they’ve got in depth.

“Their expectation with the squad that they’ve got should be promotion, maybe ours should be slightly different to that.

“So for us to be up there challenging with them, that’s something that we’re very proud of and hopefully we can show that again when we compete with them and hopefully we can get a result.”

After this spell of congestion, Avenue will only have five games left to ensure they secure at least a play-off spot, but Bower said challenging for something at the end of the season brings excitement rather than nerves.

The coach said: “There’s a lot of confidence and belief and enjoyment and I guess excitement going into this last five or six weeks of the season, with a lot to play for.

“Last year at this time it looked like we weren’t going to get in the play-offs, and it was looking like a bit of a drab finish.

“But this time we’re in a position where we’ve got a chance and hopefully people come along and support us and help us get a place in that top seven and hopefully go a step further than we did last year.”