MARK Bower described Tuesday's defeat at rock-bottom Stalybridge as "the lowest point of the season" for Bradford Park Avenue.

Against promotion-chasing Halifax last weekend, Avenue had looked solid at the back and although they lost 3-1, the game was balanced in the 86th minute at a goal apiece.

Staybridge had just dropped to the foot of the National North table after a home defeat against Darlington, another promotion hopeful. It was their third loss on the trot but it was a tough run as they had also played high-flying duo Stockport and Salford in that spell.

Avenue were also looking to get back to winning ways after back-to-back defeats but they were relishing the prospect of three games in a run of four against clubs in and around them in the table.

In the first of those fixtures it all went horribly wrong as they lost 4-3 and Bower admitted: "We felt low after the game and the feeling was the same the day after.

"We've lost our last three games now and I think a lot of people thought it was an opportunity to pull away from the relegation places. But it doesn't work like that and every game is a difficult one because it's a very competitive league.

"To lose was bad enough but to lose in that manner raised a few eyebrows. It was the lowest point of the season for me, for the players and I would think for everyone involved with the club.

"We seem to have saved our worst two performances of the season for the two games against Stalybridge."

Bower, a former centre-back and ex-Bradford City skipper, has worked on the defensive unit since taking over and had seen an improvement. Yet he was aghast at the ineptitude of his rear guard in midweek.

The Horsfall boss said: "Even when we were winning games early on, as we started to pick up our keeper Jon Worsnop was our busiest player.

"But that hasn't been the case in recent games because we've defended well. Against Halifax we were solid for 60 to 65 minutes before they started to put us under a bit of pressure and then won it at the end.

"So I hope that the other night was a one-off and we can get back to the level of performance that saw us climb out of the relegation places. We're looking for a reaction now like we got after the last game.

"We lost 1-0 at home against Stalybridge but we bounced back to win at FC United and went on to win our next two games. We really need to take another positive step because that was a rude awakening for a lot of people."