BRADFORD Town boss Paul Shanley believes Saturday’s big FA Vase match at home to Highworth Town is too close to call.

The Wiltshire rivals will go head to head in the fifth round of the national competition at Trowbridge Road on Saturday, with a place in the quarter-finals and another step towards the dream of a Wembley final up for grabs.

Both teams enter the game in strong form, with Bradford having won each of their last three matches, while Hellenic League outfit Highworth had enjoyed a six-game unbeaten run until a much-changed side fell to a 1-0 loss at Binfield at the weekend.

Shanley says there is little between the two sides and just hopes Bradford can reproduce the form that saw them come from behind to beat local rivals Melksham Town 3-1 in the previous round.

“The last Vase game was the biggest game in our history, so this one has to be the biggest again now,” said Shanley.

“The longer you stay in the competition, the bigger the games get.

“We are excited about the game and if we can produce our best we have a real chance of getting through.

“We might be at home but I don’t think that really matters a great deal at this level.

“It’s a 50-50 game as they are evenly matched sides. In terms of current form there’s not a lot between the teams. It could easily just come down to the toss of a coin.”

Bradford were without a game last weekend after their proposed league trip to Buckland Athletic was called off because of a waterlogged pitch.

That means Shanley has no new injuries to worry about for the Highworth match, although they will be without Mark Wall following his sending off against Melksham in the last round.

Shanley added: “I don’t think the fact we didn’t play the week before will be an issue. The players all train every week so they won’t be out of sync.

“Everyone is available other than Mark and the players who are cup tied.

“Mark is disappointed to miss the game as all the players want to play in the big games but it’s out of our hands.”