BRADFORD (Park Avenue) all but confirmed that they would be playing National League North football next season after settling for a goalless stalemate with near-neighbours Guiseley.

Mark Bower’s side are 12 points clear of the drop zone with 12 left to play for, so a draw in their next match would confirm their survival, but the Lions aren’t in such a settled place themselves.

Steve Kittrick’s arrival to Nethermoor has revitalised the Lions slightly with four points from their last possible nine, but Guiseley’s position in the league remains in jeopardy, as they sit three points off safety.

Kittrick was left satisfied with the draw, saying: “You’re not expected to go and win anywhere.

“The three points would have been nice but if you’d told yourself a week ago you’d end up getting four points in a week, you’d have been happy, because we know points are hard to come by and you’ve got to work hard.

“The lads worked hard and we’ve only been here a week have me and Luke (Potter), getting our message over. So we’ve said don’t be too disappointed with the point, because it’s a point towards where we need to be.

“I think we’ve had a couple of good chances really, we’ve had the openings and got in behind but you’ve got to remember that we’ve got a 17-year-old lad playing up front at the moment, and that’s no excuse, because Kaine (Felix) has just come back and he’s just said he wishes he had got that ball, so it’s just one of those things. ”

There were few chances throughout the first half, but former Lions attacker Oli Johnson did come close to a breakthrough from a corner, but Mansfield Town loanee Owen Mason reacted well to keep the forward out.

George Sykes-Kenworthy has been receiving plaudits recently for his impressive performances, with five clean sheets in his last six outings, but the former Bradford City goalkeeper was untroubled when he saw John Johnstone’s effort flash wide of the target.

Heading into the second half, Avenue looked to break the deadlock immediately from a corner but Dylan Mottley-Henry saw his nodded effort skim wide of the target.

Johnstone looked the most likely to score for the Lions and nearly did so on the hour mark, as the former Salford City man hammered an effort over from close range.

The winger continued in his involvements, terrorising down the right wing before firing narrowly wide of Sykes-Kenworthy.

Brad Dockerty has had a memorable campaign under Bower so far, and looked to nick the game late on but Mason was on hand to smother his low, driven strike.

And as a crowd of just under 1,000 began to depart the Horsfall Stadium, the referee brought the game of few chances to its conclusion with the spoils shared.

Another positive of the match was the effort of the supporters, who raised over £700 for Alzheimer’s Society from the walk from Nethermoor to Horsfall.

Guiseley are next in action on Saturday, welcoming Curzon Ashton to Nethermoor, while Bradford make the long trip to Hereford.