County play-off dream lives on SAM BYRNE
COUNTY boss Jim Gannon hailed an emotional afternoon as The Hatters struck late on to secure a fourth successive win in a dramatic 3-2 triumph at Bradford Park Avenue on Good Friday.
A brace by leading marksman Jason Oswell – the 25-year-old’s first league goals of 2018 – looked to have sealed a comfortable 2-0 win for Gannon’s play-off chasers, before ex-Hatter Javan Vidal and striker Frank Mulhern levelled for Avenue.
But, amidst a seemingly missed opportunity to capitalise on results elsewhere going in County’s favour, Jimmy Ball pounced in the fifth minute of stoppage time to volley home a stunning winner before celebrating with the ecstatic 770 travelling County supporters – many of whom had made their way onto the pitch.
A “delighted” Gannon reflected on similar scenes at the Horsfall Stadium twelve months earlier, when Josh Amis’ last-gasp strike sealed another dramatic win and sparked similar celebrations over the Pennines for The Hatters, ensuring that County remained in an ultimately unsuccessful play-off hunt.
“It’s a fantastic finish by Jimmy. I was screaming at the front lads to stay high with Jimmy in behind them, as we know he’s got that extra dimension to his game to play off the strikers and get on the end of things.
“You have to give credit to Bradford because they battled back, although I was really disappointed with our cheap fouls and mistakes allowing them the opportunity to stage that comeback. But it’s great for the lads; it was fantastic scenes at the end and an emotional evening for everyone which seems to be par for the course here at Bradford.”
With The Hatters preparing for an Easter double header prior to the postponement of Monday’s clash with struggling Tamworth due to a waterlogged Edgeley Park surface, Gannon opted to replace winger Darren Stephenson with returning full-back Dan Cowan, after the former Macclesfield defender overcame a virus during the week.
Stephenson did make a second-half appearance to little effect as the exChorley attacker’s intro- duction coincided with a Bradford fightback, but Gannon explained that the changes were made purely to rest his in-form players, with games coming thick and fast in the National League North.
Monday’s postponed tie had been rescheduled for Tuesday evening at Edgeley Park as the Express went to print, and Gannon admitted that further changes would be in the offing.
“There was no real game plan in terms of selecting certain players over others, other than the fact that we should have been playing two games in three days before the postponement on Monday.
“It’s great for Jason to get his goals, Matty worked really hard against a side who looked to crowd him out and we’ll take some real energy and positives from the performances of the lads.”
There was also praise by the Hatters chief for young left-back Scott Duxbury, who capped his 150th outing for County with an assist for Oswell’s second and “another solid performance”.
Gannon made the 23-year-old one of his first summer signings in the pre-season of 2016, bringing Duxbury back to the club after the Darwenborn defender was allowed to depart the club by Neil Young.
The County boss actually signed Duxbury at Northwich before linking up again at Edgeley Park, and Gannon admitted that his defender’s recent form is reminiscent of the form showed by the left-back which sparked interest from Football League clubs such as Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City.
“It’s a great achievement for Scott. He’s been one of our most consistent lads, and he works incredibly hard behind the scenes to give himself a platform to put in these kind of performances,” Gannon enthused.
“He’s looking like the player who first came to County as a youngster who was attracting interest from League clubs, and we do want him to be a Football League player.
“Hopefully that’s with us, but if he keeps applying himself and working this hard then, just the same as any young player, he’s got a great chance of progressing up the divisions.”